Roger
(Photos: John Palminteri / KEYT News)
Update by Santa Barbara City Fire Department
1:00 p.m., May 23, 2018
At approximately 11:55 am fire crews working at Santa Barbara City Fire Station 1 heard a vehicle accident at the corner of Carrillo and Chapala. Truck 1 responded and found 1 person trapped and critically injured and another person with moderate injuries. They requested the assistance of Engine 1 and Engine 3. The fire crews extricated the critically injured patient and assisted with care for the moderately injured patient. This intersection will be closed temporarily so use caution if you are driving in this area.
Reported by Roger the Scanner Guy
12:00 p.m., May 23, 2018
Major injury traffic accident at Carrillo at Chapala, one person trapped.
Photo: John Palminteri / KEYT
Update and photos by edhat reader Blazer
At approximately 1155am a Toyota Camry traveling up Chapala street lost control at the intersection of Carrillo street and collided with a Mercedes Benz causing extensive damage to both vehicles and major injuries to both drivers. City fire responded immediately and rendered assistance to the injured.
Road closure in effect on Chapala from Canon Perdido to Figueroa. Both drivers were transported to Cottage hospital. City crews are estimating full closure for several hours.
The driver of the Camry is 91 years old and the driver of the Mercedes is in her 30’s.
Wow, how fast was the Camry going? Seems like too much damage for the usual 25-30 mph.
Did anyone get the details/exactly who hit who? I arrived just afterwards, and the article does not sound right. The Mercedes must have hit the Camry at high speed, since the Mercedes had extensive front-end damage, and the Camry was hit broadside at the driver’s door. If the Camry was truly traveling “up Chapala” (going toward Figueroa), it may have run the red light. The Mercedes, going toward State St., broadsided the Camry. But both cars were on on the Ralphs’s corner—that doesn’t make sense. The impact would push them the other way. I wonder if the Mercedes was the one going “up Chapala St,” and the Camry was on Carrillo going toward the freeway. The Mercedes failed to stop at the red, and hit the Camry at the driver’s door, driving both cars NW toward Ralphs (???).
Whoa! I drive across that intersection on Chapala maybe 5 minutes before this accident! Karma!
We really need elderly driver checkpoints that test one’s reaction and physical ability. If public safety is the goal of the invasive DUI checkpoints then we need to also use these stops to asses drivers physical abilities, regardless of the presence of substances. There are many, many people driving around town who simply do not have the capability to drive safely or react correctly. They are as much of a menace as people who have had a few drinks or a puff or two of weed. This is a major problem as many elderly are simply incapable of managing a car in their later years. This is the 3rd wreck this week by an elderly person who lost control and put others in jeopardy. Time to put the brakes on the old. If you’re over 75, you get yearly ability checks. Simple, effective and good for the whole. Time to check on grandma!
Santa Barbara is so beautiful that a slower “Fiji time”…pace ought to be adopted. Drive slower. Enjoy a slower pace. Note surroundings. The speed limit in all of Santa Barbara and the surrounding areas ought not to be higher than 35 mph save for the freeway. So many cars with so many little dents and so many faces with scowls. If you are really as cool as you want others to think you are then…what’s the hurry?
In situations like this, you will appear less prejudiced/ignorant if you wait until the facts are known before deciding who’s to blame. It may be that the 91 year-old was at fault due to some age-related condition, but it is equally possible that the 30-something driver was doing what many in that age group are observed doing, speeding/texting/ignoring yellow lights that will turn red while her/his car is in the middle of an intersection.