Goleta Man Arrested for DUI in Double Fatal Hit and Run

An online fundraiser has been created to support the four surviving children. Click here for more information.
Update by Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office
Last night, Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 39-year-old Eric Mauricio Ramirez Aguilar of Goleta for his connection to a hit-and-run that left two people dead. He was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail with a bail of $100,000 and his booking photo is now available. Below is a list of his charges:
- 2 counts 191.5(A) PC- Gross Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated (felony)
- 1 count 23153 VC- DUI Causing Injury (felony)
- 1 count 20001(A) VC- Hit and Run Causing Death/Injury (felony)
- 1 count 20001(C) VC- Flee the Scene of a Crime After Commission of Vehicular Manslaughter (felony)
- 1 count 23558 VC- Enhancement for Bodily Injury or Death of More Than One Victim While DUI (felony)
- 1 count 23152(A)VC- DUI Alcohol (misdemeanor)

Update by Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office
At 5:20 p.m. [Sunday] afternoon, Sheriff’s Deputies responded with County Fire and American Medical Response (AMR) to Cathedral Oaks and Winchester Canyon on a report of a vehicle that hit two pedestrians. While deputies were on their way, the driver of the vehicle ran from the scene and was last seen westbound on Cathedral Oaks. When deputies arrived, they confirmed that one of the pedestrians was deceased. Deputies then took over life saving measures for the second pedestrian. AMR and Fire arrived shortly after and took over care of the patient, transporting her to the hospital where she was later pronounced deceased.
Deputies assisting with the call searched the area for the suspect and two K9 units responded. At 8:30 p.m., deputies located the suspect who was the passenger in a vehicle in Carpinteria. The vehicle was stopped and 39-year-old Eric Mauricio Ramirez Aguilar of Goleta was taken into custody. The driver of the vehicle in Carpinteria was determined to be uninvolved with the hit-and-run and was released at the scene. Aguilar will later be booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail.
The decedents have been identified as 44-year-old Adolfo Corral Corral and 44-year-old Mary Jane Becerra Corral of Goleta.
The Sheriff’s Major Accident Response Team is conducting a thorough investigation of the scene that requires a section of Cathedral Oaks be closed to traffic. Cathedral Oaks has been closed from Winchester Canyon to Brandon until the initial investigation has been completed.
The Santa Barbara County Fire Department confirmed one pedestrian was killed and another suffered major injuries after being struck by a vehicle in west Goleta.
The collision took place at Cathedral Oaks and Winchester Circle where law enforcement is performing an investigation.
Traffic restrictions are underway in the area.
This is a developing story.
Hit and run at Cathedral Oaks and Winchester Canyon with injuries to two pedestrians. One is pronounced dead on arrival (black tag).
Related Articles
February 10, 2020: Fundraiser Created for Family Affected by Hit and Run
February 12, 2020: District Attorney Charges Hit and Run Driver
Comments Penalty Box
1 Comments deleted due to down vote
11 Comments deleted by Administrator
123 Comments
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Feb 12, 2020 03:35 PMThe CA Superior Court should make DUI fines a percentage of annual income. For most 10k is a lifechanging wake-up call. Then I know for a fact there are some upstanding Hope Ranch and Montecito residents on probation from at least their 3rd DUI. A life-threatening crime with zero tolerance should not be treated like a giant speeding ticket. Idk, from some of the activities I've seen in the Cito rat den a sizable proportion of people there should just be lined up against a wall.
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Feb 12, 2020 07:39 AMCaught over 3 hours after he’s slaughtered this couple, and he’s still drunk. He’s already pleaded not guilty.
And this: Superior Court records show that Ramirez-Aguilar is on probation after pleading no contest to two counts of misdemeanor child cruelty stemming from an incident in November 2018.
Nope, not feeling much compassion for the guy.
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Feb 12, 2020 12:26 PMWhen I was a student teacher more than 30 years ago, I vividly remember parent-teacher conferences. Upon meeting parents, I could see why certain kids behaved as they did in class (both good and bad). I certainly hope that Aguilar's children will get the counseling they will need to deal with both this incident and previous treatment by their father.
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Feb 12, 2020 11:56 AMHow did you look up that case online? I just tried and got zero results. Thanks.
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Feb 12, 2020 08:24 AMZERO surprise here over that. Someone like this usually has a record.
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Feb 11, 2020 06:47 PMWow. Is this bunch of commenters a real sample of our community? God, I hope not, but probably. Let's start by the fact that a horrible tragedy has happened. It is so sad for EVERYONE connected to it. Two amazing people suddenly killed, four children left without their parents, and another family left without their father/spouse (presumably the breadwinner) and knowing he did this. Tragic. Obviously and without question, this man should be locked up for the maximum sentence allowed. However, most people on here are so holier than thou, it makes me sick. I'm sure there is a person who has never had two or three glasses of wine at dinner and drove, but those of us who have were most likely DUI. Can you imagine if you did this? No one here knows how drunk he was, if he had a blowout, got distracted or whatever. I'm sure none of you have.. I'm sure this guy must feel so incredibly horrible right now. I hope he does and he should and he will spend most of the rest of his life in prison. His family also must be crushed. I don't see a huge go fund me for them though.. Zero empathy here on any level for his family. You're all perfect though, so it's cool.
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Feb 12, 2020 12:55 PMEdhat commentors tend to be old testament curmudgeons. But I'm sure they are very nice people in person.
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Feb 12, 2020 09:47 AMLOL. It doesn't take a genius to know what happened here. Dude was drunk and did something horrific. He didn't have a blow out. He was found hours later drunk.
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Feb 12, 2020 08:23 AMLOL. You want us to have compassion for someone who ran down a couple THEN LEFT THE SCENE!!! Shows what type of person he is. ZERO humanity. That's what he has.
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Feb 11, 2020 10:24 PMYes, and??
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Feb 11, 2020 08:21 PMRESPONSIBILITY.
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Feb 11, 2020 07:56 PMActually almost no details were mentioned. Just saying none of us know exactly what happened. Not that it makes a bit of difference to the lives taken.
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Feb 11, 2020 07:42 PMGET OVER IT: “had a blowout.” That’s rich. You don’t think that tiny detail would have been mentioned?
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Feb 11, 2020 11:50 AMIf the guy can't control his drinking to the point of killing people, he is unfit to parent. The children, sad as it is for them, will be better without him.
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Feb 11, 2020 04:12 PMwrong
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Feb 11, 2020 09:26 AMLike the other posters here, I am shocked and saddened by the tragic accident that killed this couple. The perpetrator should not have left the scene. He deserves to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. His life will never be the same, nor should it. He looks a lot like someone who did some work at my house. I suspect it is him. He was a nice guy and did a good job. Of course, none of that can excuse what happened on Sunday. My condolences to the family and friends of the couple.
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Feb 11, 2020 08:13 AMWhen someone drives drunk like this and mows over innocents and then flees, chances are he's driven drunk many, many times before this and this time, his luck ran out. It is highly unlikely this was the first time he drove impaired and had a bad run of luck especially considering he fled the scene. Sadly it took 2 deaths to get him off the streets but feeling sorry for him, sorry I don't.
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Feb 11, 2020 08:53 AMRight? I saw that too. No one is feeling SORRY for him. Someone simply stated that maybe his bail was set so low because he has kids. People need to focus on these 4 kids they leave behind and what we as a community can do to help. By the way, bail is at $1 mil now.
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Feb 11, 2020 08:44 AM8:43 - oh duh.... sorry. I'll remove my foot from my mouth. Either way, no one is feeling sorry for him.
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Feb 11, 2020 08:43 AMMaybe you should re-read my comment. Just because someone didn't get caught and has a record doesn't mean anything. By the time someone is caught, they've usually been driving around drunk for awhile withOUT getting caught so your search of court records is meaningless. Not to mention, ppl can get things expunged.
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Feb 11, 2020 08:36 AM8:13 - who is feeling "sorry" for Mr. Aguilar? I don't see that anywhere. Interesting you think he's an experienced drunk driver based purely on the fact he fled. You'r incorrect though. Looking through CA court records, this name does not come up. So, how about laying off the assumptions?
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Feb 11, 2020 07:32 AMI hope the fact that he fled the scene ensures a life sentence. Glad there will be one less drunk driver on the road.
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Feb 11, 2020 04:13 PMdefinitely not a slap on the wrist mattyboy.
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Feb 11, 2020 02:50 PMSBMOMOF2GIRLS - it doesn't matter when the only charges available have maximum penalties combining ~20 years, and that's if they all stick and get fully enforced. The judges hands will be tied - he can't just hand out whatever sentence he feels like, he is bound by the current laws on the books and the laws dictate the penalties.
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Feb 11, 2020 02:46 PMLook up the penalties for the codes charged. They are soft for an act of such recklessness. Essentially a slap on the wrist regardless of knowing your actions may result in the deaths of multiple people.
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Feb 11, 2020 09:48 AMhe won't get life in prison, but the penalties for what he has done are definitely not "soft"
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Feb 11, 2020 08:54 AMHe didn't just get a DUI. He killed two people.
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Feb 11, 2020 08:24 AMIt won't. Even if served consecutively, the penalties for that whole list of offenses is only about 20 years, maximum. DUI laws are soft. Everyone loves their alcohol.
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Feb 10, 2020 08:53 PMMy two fears in life are virulent viruses and drunk drivers. This drunk driver sickens me, and I hope he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I know someone who lost both parents when he and his siblings were young, very similar to this family. The older ones raised the younger ones, and they got through it together. My prayers are with them, and may they be surrounded by many who get them through this tragedy and launched into adulthood.
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Feb 11, 2020 01:32 AMIs it me, or have there been a lot of vehicle deaths/homicides this past year in SB County? I ask because I've been reading edhat a lot more recently and I'm wondering if that's affecting my perception, since they get reported here regularly.
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Feb 10, 2020 08:29 PMClearly Aguilar screwed up here and his life is likely completely ruined as a result. It is interesting that people seem to think that being "local" and having kids relates to his flight risk and bail. I guess if he was a bachelor from Mexico everyone would vote to hang him on the spot. I'm not sure what the right thing to do with these cases is, but punishing this guy, while right and just, will not bring these poor people back. Could there be a way to make him atone by helping society end the scourge of drunk driving and car accidents in general?
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Feb 11, 2020 09:50 AMthat wont help
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Feb 11, 2020 08:38 AM9:37, the fines are already pretty high, said to be about $10K for everything related to the DUI, including fines, increased insurance, court costs, lost work time, etc. High enough so that a reasonable person would change their behavior to avoid it in the future. The people still driving drunk are addicts who can't stop on their own. So now we need to identify them and take away their access to a car so they don't kill any other innocents.
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Feb 10, 2020 10:00 PMJob number one is to take him off the streets, as long as necessary. Public safety requires this outcome. You can argue punishment, restitution, revenge or rehabilitation as long as you want, but getting him locked up and to never cross our paths again is the primary goal. May be the best thing for his own family as well - can't have been a healthy role model, so for his own families sake, should not be seen also as innocent victims since his conduct was already victimizing them, as well as ours out in the public. If you don't want to do the time, don't do the crime. How today can pretend they don't know they should not drink and drive? Back to basics- it was his choice - addiction or not, to drink and get in a car and conduct himself that led to such unforgivable carnage. Yes, this is bad on all counts. But that remains the reason we have criminal justice systems so people know up from what conduct is expected of them.
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Feb 10, 2020 09:37 PMOne thing that might help is much, much, MUCH higher penalties for DUI drivers. For first time offenders make the fines punishing and add some jail time, too. For second offenders, make the fines even more exorbitant and the jail time truly prohibitive.
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Feb 10, 2020 09:00 PMWhile noble, Ant Lion, your hopes are naive. Alcohol is not going anywhere, nor are the people too stupid to know when to not drive while drinking. Drunk driving and car accidents will be here forever. Nothing will make that go away. So yes, punishment is the only available option.
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Feb 10, 2020 06:04 PMWhere had Aguilar been drinking prior to hitting them?
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