Closing time Friday evening, while talking with the owner of Night Lizard Brewery, what sounded like an explosion rocked downtown Santa Barbara at the corner of State Street and Cota Street. Turning towards the commotion, I saw a man stepping from the passenger seat of the wrecked vehicle, looking as confused as the crowd of onlookers, wondering exactly what just happened.
Three separate vehicles were involved in the incident, with the driver of a larger white truck loaded with a full trailer that appeared to be lawn debris, being the cause of the incident. The loud collision we heard? The white truck ramming the white SUV in front of them, causing the vehicle to hit the car ahead of it, before smashing into the large planter that functions as a barricade. The car was fortunately stopped by the barricade, as a few feet away was a street vendor setting up for the night.
As onlookers piece together what happened, and the crowd formed, people noticed an unknown fluid leaking from the white truck that caused the incident and urged onlookers back. Within 5 minutes, police were on scene with EMS and the fire department in tow, a highly commendable response time. However, with spring break in swing and larger crowds pooling on the 500 block where the incident occurred, it is shocking to see there was not already a police presence in the area.
The most remarkable part of the incident? It was reported that the driver had left his vehicle at the scene, and fled up State Street. As he fled up State Street, a good samaritan who was working at Joe’s Cafe chased him down. He was reportedly caught on Ortega Street.
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