Santa Barbara Motorcyclist Dies in Collision
Source: Santa Barbara Police Department
On December 15, 2021, around 10:00am, the Santa Barbara Police Department Combined Communications Center received numerous reports of a serious injury traffic collision involving a motorcycle and a BMW SUV at the intersection of East Canon Perdido Street and Quarantina Street.
Officers, City Fire Department personnel, and AMR Paramedics responded to the collision scene. Upon arriving, Officers located a seriously injured motorcyclist lying in the roadway who was barely breathing. Fire Department and Paramedics rendered aid and transported the motorcyclist to Cottage Hospital for treatment.
The initial investigation revealed the BMW SUV pulled into the intersection of East Canon Perdido Street and Quarantina Street, driving south. At this same time a motorcyclist was riding east on East Canon Perdido Street. Both vehicles collided with each other. The motorcyclist was ejected and landed approximately 50 feet from the initial area of impact. The force from the collision dislodged the helmet prior to the motorcyclist landing on the roadway.
The Critical Accident Reconstruction Team responded to the scene of the collision to conduct further investigation. Tragically, on December 28, 2021, the motorcyclist succumbed to his injuries while at the hospital. His death appears to be directly related to the injuries sustained during the collision occurring on December 15, 2021.
This case is still currently under investigation. The decedent was identified as 57-year-old Santa Barbara resident, James B. Miller. Alcohol and drugs are not believed to be a factor in this collision at this time.
Traffic safety is a priority for our department. The Santa Barbara Police Department was recently awarded a grant for $230,000 from the Office of Transportation Safety. These funds will enable over a hundred additional traffic enforcement related details to take place over the next year. Officers working these special details are solely responsible for conducting traffic enforcement through education and DUI prevention. This helps to ensure vehicle drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians are safe while out and about in our wonderful city.
Many serious collisions can be avoided! Always drive with due regard, absolutely do not drive while intoxicated, and make sure every occupant always wears a seatbelt. Do not drive distracted and always pay attention to the road.
When operating a motorcycle, it is required by law that a securely fastened, Department of Transportation approved helmet must be worn. The law requires anyone under the age of 18 to wear a bicycle helmet and it is recommended those over the age of 18 to wear one as well.
24 Comments
-
1
-
-
Jan 03, 2022 04:45 PMMotorcycle accident deaths seem to be fairly common in the S B. area. Dangerous place to ride.
-
-
-
Jan 03, 2022 06:21 PMCombination of speeding (look at the damage to bike), and an idiot pulling out in front of (yet another) motorcyclist. Coming out of SBHS, there is (as you can see) plenty of view/distance to see a speeding motorcyclist... So sad, RIP.
-
4
-
-
Jan 03, 2022 06:32 PMCar drivers need to be reminded to look for motorcycles and bikes. We tend to look, see no large thing coming toward us, and decide it is clear. Our brains don’t always register a smaller vehicle. (But I don’t pretend to know what happened in this instance.)
Very sad. I am sorry for this man and those who loved him.
-
1
-
-
Jan 03, 2022 07:32 PMI wonder if it was a SBHS student driver seeing as how little has been mentioned in the news about it...anyone else hear/know anything?
-
-
-
Jan 03, 2022 08:40 PMYeah my thoughts too, and that they could be the child of wealth or someone famous on top of it.
Seems like the motorcyclist was speeding with how far he flew but it is totally a wide open view there. It feels like a young driver.
-
-
-
Jan 04, 2022 07:29 AMRight next to the High School, gotta be a student. People are trained to look for other cars, and often fail to see motorcycles and bicyclists. If you are on 2 wheels, your head has to be on a swivel at all times.
Not that it is any consolation, but the family of the decedent will probably get a big settlement out of it.
-
1
-
-
Jan 04, 2022 10:07 AMNoozhawk article says juvenile driver.
-
1
-
2
-
Jan 03, 2022 08:02 PMWhat I do not understand is why there was hardly any published news of this reported at the time of the accident. Was the juvenile a "special" student? Is there another reason? Perhaps with the Police Department now flush with more money, some enforcement will now occur. We can only hope.
-
-
1
-
Jan 04, 2022 08:46 AMMaybe a school admin
-
2
-
-
Jan 03, 2022 11:26 PMI wonder if the SBPD’s “recently awarded a grant for $230,000” was really from the Office of Transportation Safety or a wealthy BMW driver….weird how that would be mentioned in the article.
I’m really sorry about the motorcycle driver. My condolences to the family. Sometimes it just takes a half a second longer look in each direction before hitting that gas pedal. Put the phones down. Stay safe out there.
-
-
-
Jan 04, 2022 08:46 AMI felt the same. Really strange and a bit callous to include in a death announcement.
-
1
-
-
Jan 04, 2022 12:38 PMPlus One on that. For a Police Public Information official to mention the incredible efforts toward safety that is occurring is not a good way to end an article about the death of a motorist in that town. Not good PR at all.
-
-
4
-
Jan 04, 2022 08:43 AMMotorcyclists drive too fast, not considering that they are invisible to other motorists expecting to deal with other cars only.
-
1
-
-
Jan 04, 2022 08:57 AMSOME Motorcyclists drive too fast,...
-
-
-
Jan 04, 2022 09:28 AMI don't hear of the lane-splitters and speeders on the 101 getting in crashes, it always seems to be the City streets.
-
2
-
-
Jan 04, 2022 10:04 AMWow...just wow. Blame the victim? I am 57 and I ride sportbikes. I am not an unsafe rider. Statistically, a juvenile driver is far more likely to cause an accident than a 57 year old.
-
1
-
1
-
Jan 04, 2022 03:23 PMFYI- Lane splitting is legal for motorcyclists in the State of California
Driving while engaged in your texting / cell phone use is not.
Motorcyclists, in general are VERY cautious on surface streets, especially since most accidents are due to vehicles turning left in front of the M/C.
-
-
-
Jan 04, 2022 04:12 PMIt's typically true though, cyclists and motorcyclists are usually fast and loose with traffic rules.
Granted, most motorcycle riders have a higher skill ceiling than most drivers, but unless this driver blew past that stop sign, they most likely thought it was clear and started to go, with the motorcycle coming through the intersection.
It's sad but honestly, you kind of have to accept that by riding a motorcycle, you're turning what would be a minor fender bender into a fatality
-
-
-
Jan 04, 2022 09:43 AMR.I.P. to the motorcyclist. How sad that this happened just a few feet from S.B. High School, 3 weeks ago, and the victim died a week ago.
Interesting that some stories are delayed or deleted in S.B..
-
-
-
Jan 04, 2022 11:31 AMThat's not an SUV
-
-
-
Jan 04, 2022 11:50 AMThe article above states "BMW SUV"
-
-
-
Jan 04, 2022 12:19 PMVery observant.. that's why I said its not a BMW SUV, unless this is not a photo from the actual incident,
-
1
-
-
Jan 04, 2022 01:47 PMRefresh key is your friend.
-
2
-
-
Jan 04, 2022 01:23 PMThe SBPD press release & photo don't provide enough information to infer the motorcyclist was speeding as some are stating here. And consider if one assumes the rider was travelling at 30 mph at impact, that's about 45 feet per second. So being thrown 50 feet wouldn't necessarily imply speeding. Many variables best left to SBPD to analyze. I would add there are stop signs at that intersection for the BMW but not the motorcycle. That means the BMW had a responsibility to ensure it was safe to enter the intersection before doing so. A very sad incident.