Identities Released in Fatal Garden Street Collision
Update by edhat staff
Two confirmed deaths in a traffic collision and fire at the Garden Street onramp on Wednesday evening.
Around 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, emergency responders were on the scene of the Highway 101 onramp in Santa Barbara for a sedan that crashed into a wall and caught on fire.
California Highway Patrol initially confirmed one fatality but scanner traffic stated there were two fatalities. Later, it was confirmed that two people indeed did pass away from this collision, a 29-year-old male driver and 35-year-old passenger who are not yet identified.
The vehicle, a 1997 Mercedes S500 exited Highway 101 at the Garden Street off-ramp, proceeded through the intersection, and crashed into a concrete wall near the highway on-ramp. The vehicle rolled then caught fire leaving the two occupants trapped. Both were pronounced dead on arrival.
This is a developing story and will be updated with information as it becomes available.
Multiple callers reporting a vehicle that crashed into a wall and caught on fire on Garden street near the Highway 101 onramp
21 Comments
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Oct 20, 2021 06:20 PM2 occupants trapped in the vehicle
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Oct 20, 2021 06:24 PMAdditional engines responding
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Oct 20, 2021 06:24 PMRequesting PD to close off the garden underpass
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Oct 20, 2021 06:35 PMHard closure of the SB 101 offramp
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Oct 20, 2021 06:55 PMOne confirmed deceased
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Oct 20, 2021 06:57 PMThis was a fatal. Thought I heard CHP dispatch refer to removal of 'bodies,' plural, but am not certain. Since original reports indicated two occupants, that is plausible, and tragic.
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Oct 20, 2021 10:29 PM2 were in fact killed
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Oct 20, 2021 11:29 PMAndrew. Thanks for the info. Bad news, but reality. In addition to the families' grief, the first responders will carry the images forever. 45 years after seeing the aftermath of a similar incident, I still can't forget the scene. Horrible.
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Oct 21, 2021 05:33 AMJB what did you used to do for a living?
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Oct 21, 2021 04:04 PMOffmylawn; back in the early '70s I was a federal investigator and worked with a lot of state and local agencies. In that connection, what I saw that stuck with me were Highway Patrol evidence photos of vehicle fire victims, 'in situ,' taken at the scene. You can't 'unsee' such things, so I can imagine first responders having to deal with it big time.
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Oct 21, 2021 06:35 AMThere’s a story in Noozhawk. What a strange accident, although I’ve seen cars speeding down the Garden Street off ramp. Wonder if the brakes failed?
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Oct 21, 2021 07:52 AMBrake failure was my thought too! So weird and awful :(
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Oct 21, 2021 11:06 AMHow do brakes fail in today's well engineered autos?
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Oct 22, 2021 08:55 AMMy hypothesis is the freeway was backed up so he was doing the "exit re-enter" maneuver to gain position on the stopped traffic. Speeding down the off ramp to make the light somehow lost control crossing Garden St & jumped the curb & hit the wall. So sad.
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Oct 22, 2021 09:34 AMI own a body shop and have been in the car repair industry for almost 40 years. That Mercedes is both well engineered safety-wise, and a “tank”. For the front end to be that smashed the vehicle had to be traveling at a high rate of speed and under throttle when it hit the wall. I highly doubt it was simply a brake failure and if it was, the driver could have continued up the on-ramp to to try to lose speed. I don’t have any idea what did happen though.
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Oct 22, 2021 10:16 AMSeriously. Thanks for your professional expertise. My first thought was that this looked like the Princess Diana wreck of same era Mercedes, and it is now known they were traveling around 65mph when they crashed.
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Oct 22, 2021 12:29 PMSpeed combined with drugs or alcohol?
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Oct 23, 2021 06:12 AMTwo young people lost. Sympathies to family and friends, Rest in peace.
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Oct 23, 2021 01:32 PMAt the tail end of rush hour, it’s very fortunate there were no other vehicles in that intersection when this vehicle went through.
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Oct 25, 2021 01:57 PMHello,
I would like to share the link where the Moreno family is asking for assistance on the memorial and funeral costs. This was my friend's dear brother and any donations, will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
https://www.gofund.me/a010cd65
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Oct 28, 2021 11:10 AMwww.independent.com/2015/06/09/deputies-shoot-man-during-traffic-stop/