Roger
Photos: SBCFD
Authorities have identified the person who died in a single-vehicle collision on Highway 154 Friday evening.
Rene Martinez-Carrasco, 51 of Santa Barbara, was pronounced dead after 7:00 p.m. on the westbound side of Highway 154 near the entrance to Circle V Ranch Camp, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
California Highway Patrol reported a witness observed Carrasco’s vehicle speeding and attempting to pass other vehicles before the collision.
When responders arrived on the scene they discovered the vehicle had rolled over and crashed into an oak tree landing upside down. There were no other vehicles involved. Carrasco was pronounced dead at the scene.
One person was pronounced dead in a single-vehicle collision on Highway 154 Friday evening.
At 7:14 p.m., Santa Barbara County firefighters with a ground ambulance and CalStar helicopter arrived in the 2500 block of Highway 154 an discovered a vehicle had rolled over and crashed into an oak tree landing upside down.
There were no other vehicles involved and only one motorist inside the vehicle. Firefighters reported heavy extrication to reach the patient who was pronounced dead on arrival.
There were heavy traffic restrictions in the area and the cause of the collision is under investigation.
Vehicle into a tree, subject trapped in the 2500 Block of Highway 154 Circle B Ranch.
Could it be another highway? 154 is nowhere near Circle Bar B.
Our firefighters have been through a lot these last few years. I feel for them. Between the major fires and all the “homeless fires” they are constantly retrieving dead bodies from vehicles. I hope they’re all ok mentally.
Is it not using the turnouts? I’d like to use them, since I am generally going the speed limit, but I can’t. Most of them are so short you actually have to be going less than 55 to be able to get into them without slowing down. Which would further enrage the road ragers. Out of control road rage the biggest problem on this road.
What are you talking about Z? How can you argue that a place is a saloon but has no bar? Not to mention the fact that I myself have been in a major car accident leaving Circle B because of a driver who got drunk there (although this was not on the 154). We flew off the road and hit 3 lemon trees, with me almost getting impaled and the driver being arrested for a DUI.
Circle B, no bar.
The same logic that calls drunk-driving murder should call it suicide depending on who dies.
Wow, I’ve been calling it Circle Bar B for decades, did something change or has it always been wrong?
OK, just don’t flame me for asking…But by any chance was this person just driving too fast, or did anyone on the road notice if there was a whole stack of cars behind a slow driver that may have triggered this person?
I know, I know, we’re responsible for our driving behavior and I fully support that. But it is also helpful to know the other related facts that could impact enforcement efforts on the 154. So if there was a huge stack of vehicles this person was trying to overtake – and not saying it was the case – would be helpful to let CHP know so they can target not just speeders but slow, traffic impeding drivers.
At the Solvang town hall, the CHP were chock full of stats but did not mention how many citations are given each year to slow drivers – and the public suspects it is close to zero. The CHP says they target the slow ones, but no data means we don’t know.
Cut down all the oak trees. Turn 154 into a private road. Install center divider barriers. Reduce the speed limit to 10 MPH. Close the Circle B Ranch/Bar.
Google maps agrees, calling it Circle Bar B Guest Ranch and Stables
My guess would be that it would be on 154, near the turnoff to the Circle Bar B Ranch.
I didn’t find much local coverage. But Noozhawk says it was near Cachuma. Yet here we are arguing about Circle Bar B… Which is advertised as such, calls itself that, and is far away from this accident. I searched “theater circle b” and got zero hits. “theater circle bar b” got the hits you’d expect.
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http://www.circlebarb.com/ “Take Coastal Highway 101 to the Refugio State Beach Exit, and drive 3.5 miles into the canyon on Refugio Road. Located at 1800 Refugio Road.”
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This accident occurred on 154 near Cachuma. I tend to believe fire departments re: where they responded. https://twitter.com/SBCFireInfo/status/1208236715434889217 =================================================================
“Vehicle accident #154Inc. C/T 1914, 2500 block of Hwy 154 bear Lake Cachuma. Single vehicle rollover into a tree. Single fatality. ” I trust the PIO meant “near” when he typed “bear.”
I think SBNatural raises a couple of very good points. First, I think it is well worth looking into any contributory factors involving the roadway. If a specific roadway issue can be identified, then we could do something to make it safer. I think it would be well worth devoting some major resources to improving highway 154. It needs to be safer, and it needs to be able to accommodate more traffic at higher speeds. In addition, I think the CHP does not do nearly enough to address slow drivers. On highway 101, I believe the current approach to speed limit enforcement may actually contribute to increasing the number of accidents that occur. I think a reduction in accidents on highway 101 could be achieved by eliminating the speed limit, and instead enforcing lane discipline by ticketing people who drive slowly in the left lane / fail to yield to faster traffic.
yeah right, it is the slow drivers that are the problem, not the tailgating speeders. enable them more and the road will be safer! Some people are like kids and need governors on their cars. grow up.
It is illegal to go over the speed limit. It is not illegal to go under it. There is no minimum speed on 154. What exactly are the CHP supposed to be ticketing the slow drivers for.
Circle B Ranch has no bar. If you refer to the Circle Bar B Ranch, it’s saloon has never been involved in a Hwy 154 DUI. A more informed trolling would be appreciated, MRTRUMP.
Another case of reckless driving and yet people continue to blame slow drivers for accidents – utterly preposterous and surreal – the pass will never be safe with this type of attitude.
P.S. https://law.justia.com/codes/california/2005/veh/21750-21759.html “21753. Except when passing on the right is permitted, the driver of
an overtaken vehicle shall safely move to the right-hand side of the
highway in favor of the overtaking vehicle after an audible signal
or a momentary flash of headlights by the overtaking vehicle, and
shall not increase the speed of his or her vehicle until completely
passed by the overtaking vehicle. This section does not require the
driver of an overtaken vehicle to drive on the shoulder of the
highway in order to allow the overtaking vehicle to pass.”
The Circle Bar B has a bar/saloon/watering-hole. It is not the Circle B ranch. A dude ranch on the south side of the mountains versus a cattle ranch in the Santa Ynez valley. It is nowhere near Highway 154. Locals Only, you should not ride with drunk drivers; you should learn to read all the words in each sentence.
On a daily basis driving the 101 freeway in Santa Barbara, I feel threatened while driving due to speeding drivers cutting in and out of lanes and tailgators purposely intimating me as well as others to move over, even when we’re not in the fast lane and going the speed limit. The mere presence of CHP would be appreciated during rush hour traffic, at least, but it’s rare that I see one. I used to hesitate to drive in L.A. traffic, but it’s obvious that we have these problems here now. Defensive driving has become the norm for those who abide by the speed limit.
I see there are balanced respponses to the suggestion that inquirey pursue whether the fatality was trying to navigate around a stack of slow drivers. For the flamers, I’m certainly not suggesting that one should out-drive personal skills or vehicle or road conditions.
But during the townhall, a cogent valley resident, a former deputy sheriff, mentioned that many more pull-over lanes could be carved out in strategic places, allowing slow drivers the option of pulling over. Add some sinage directing pullover usage, a strategic CHP unit enforcing the requirement, and you could be addressing both sides of this equation. It’s not ALL about speeding – with all due respect to you who focus exclusively on speed.
That commenting deputy both drives and rides a motorcycle, and lamented the loss in recent years of all of the broken yellow lines opportuntities to pass, likely to prevent the ill-informed or unskilled drivers from passing unsafely. But for those who have the skills and the traffic is safe, passing mid-pass was always just fine. Huh, that suggests there is increased traffic by those unfamiliar with 154 – which the townhall data refuted – but the data ended at 2017.
Simply put, CalTrans and CHP should consider all aspects of this problem, and not focus solely upon the erratic, fast, speeding driver. I actually tend to see less of speeders when the flow of traffic is moving along at the posted 55mph. It seems or would appear that those who like to go faster than 55 are nonplussed at hanging with the 55 crowd. It’s a reasonable rate of speed, even for the speed demons. I happen to know a few demons and that is what they report to me. But they are not involved in these crashes, respecting the road, traffic conditions and their own limitations.
It’s also curious how CHP and CalTrans seemed to report out on stats on those who are county residents vs out of the area. Some of us might suggest that they look at the stats of valley residents vs all others. A county resident who lives and drives 99% in north or south county away from the Valley, is not in the same population as those living in the valley.
In essence a hard look needs to occur with both the speeders and the slow drivers, and equally so.
Nothing wrong with the slow driver who pulls over to let built up traffic behind him overtake him. But that driver is extremely rare. Going up the pass many speed limit hawks are scared around all the turns and curves only to find their courage at the passing lane straight aways and speed up to PREVENT built up traffic behind them from overtaking. THAT makes the slow driver WAY more dangerous than the speeder as he irritates even the modest driver to become a speeder to get away from the inconsistent fool.
If someone flashes their high beams at you, you must by law move over. If you’re feeling intimidated, you should move over. But some people are stubborn and think they are doing a good thing by blocking faster drivers … they aren’t. As for defensive driving, that’s normal correct behavior at all times.
“Nothing wrong with the slow driver who pulls over to let built up traffic behind him [or her] overtake him [or her]. ” — In fact, if they are impeding more than 5 cars, they are breaking the law.
Yes, it is illegal to drive too slow: https://www.shouselaw.com/traffic/22400
He reported Circle B, not Circle Bar B.
JQB… thank you for your correction. But I stand by my critique of Roger being over sensitive when called on for passing on false information and attacking those calling for a correction.
More turn-outs are not the answer. Plus few use the ones already there. Suspect most don’t want to lose forward momentum going uphill and then have to ease back into traffic to regain safe driving speed on a winding road, already with too many blind spots. Start with a large, bold information sign setting out the actual time it takes driving this road at various speeds – showing how little time is saved speeding followed with the most gruesome photos showing speed kills.
Go the speed limit and let the “antsy” (nice use of euphemism there, PHOTODUDE) tailgaters stew in their own juices. If possible, pull aside to allow tailgaters to pass and thus cease their harassment and likely endangerment toward you, but ONLY if it is safe for you to do so. Studies have shown that speeding, even on the freeways, only saves one a few minutes at most.