Geo Duarte
A gray Jeep Renegade was exiting the Five Points Shopping Center (per the Jeep’s driver) attempting to make a left, facing opposite of the McDonald’s, when it came into a light-contact-collision with a Volkswagen Tiguan, which had the right-of-way as it was traveling South on State Street.
What is odd about this incident is both vehicles appear to have come to rest tightly- turning right out of the shopping center exit, with no noticeable damage to either vehicle. They both had obviously turned right at that point.
SBPD was called during the exchange of insurance information phase as a language barrier occurred as the mother mostly-only spoke Spanish.
After a second officer arrived, the young female driver of the Jeep was allowed to leave by a female officer even though the driver’s eyes appeared to be red and she seemed very confused during her brief statements.
The driver of a dark colored Volkswagen Tiguan, who appeared at the time to have the right-of-way was detained and investigated for DUI. A young male child, about six years old, was sitting in a child-carseat in the back of the VW appeared uninjured. AMR arrived and was declined service.
The child became aware that he was being kept from his mother. SBPD allowed the child to sit with his mom for a short moment on the sidewalk. At times, the distraught Mother was repeatedly asked to back away from the vehicle and sit back down on the sidewalk.
At the time PD arrived it was perceived the child was not properly strapped-in the child seat. Both vehicles were fully at rest, and awaiting further advice from PD. The mother appeared to be only Spanish-Speaking.
Right after the Jeep Renegade’s driver was allowed to easily leave the scene by PD. After only a very brief interview, where she stated “I don’t know what happened…she came out of nowhere…” “I have never been in an accident before.”
She seemed confused and her eyes were red. She then began crying. She was asked if she would be able to drive, she said yes, and was allowed to leave. The other driver, the Mom, exclaimed, in Spanish “…are you letting her leave?”
The mother of the child was given a field sobriety test and taken into custody. Santa Barbara Child Welfare Services was called as there appeared to be no close family members reachable at that moment.
The Volkswagen, Tiguan was impounded and the scene was cleared. Just after CWS took the child from the vehicle in to protective custody.
I enjoy all the comments, It’s the most entertaining part of the story. Especially the long dragged out ones written from the comfort of an easy chair. All one block paragraph, With a “Full Stop” in the middle of it all. LoL.
The VW was going South on State. No detective needed, not hard to deterine the mom and kid had the right of way. The Jeep Renegade stated she exited the parking lot (no right-of-way there.)
I’ll keep doing my best. Be well all.
I appreciate the report, so thank you. If folks want the police report–the facts ma’am, just the facts–feel free to submit a records request to the agency with jurisdiction. I think there’s value in reading the observations of an independent witness on scene. Thank you for your effort, Geo.
“Possibly the worst reporting ever”. Hyperbolize much, Mouse? Tune in to Fox News for five minutes and Geo’s report will fall way down the line of worst reporting ever. And if you don’t like it, ask for your money back.
Thank You, Mr. Papi Chulo, Can You beleive the Mouse called me a “…clown…”, straight-up-disrespect. And, he/she called me a “…racist…” WTH, sounds like personal issues. Racism involves having power over people, I have no power—but, only the power of words. Words are just words, when used in haste and hate, they have no power, over Me, and no power over any of US. Peace And Love Ya’ll! P&L!!!
Anyway, my concern was for the mother and the child. If we all knew our rights, and or could afford the best lawyer$. Then, those with authority would be forced to give us all a better outcome in situations such as this, and more importantly for the innocent children caught up and victimized in these procedural and litigious situations.
GEO – don’t mind them. I read this story twice and still don’t see what the outrage is about. It’s absolutely uncalled for. You’re a volunteer. You explained a situation in your way. You owe them nothing. Thanks for your reporting!
Sacjon – Thank You, I appreciate your understanding. It’s not the easiest unpaid-gig when the haters get heated.
.
Possibly the worst reporting ever. Nothing but assumptions, suppositions, conjecture and false analysis from someone clearly unqualified to make them and who determined who had ROW without actually witnessing the incident. Stay in your lane bro.
But… it looks like he was there. How else would he have photos?
No kidding. Exactly what I was thinking.
We used to call them ambulance chasers. Any idiot with a scanner can arrive at a traffic scene and take pictures and make up stories. If he witnessed it, where is the video of it happening to support his fiction? And I bet a thousand people drove by during that and 10% probably took pictures. This is a nothing article from a nothing wannabe cop/reporter. At least Roger reported facts and didn’t invent narratives.
And….. who does this clown think he is to question the officers judgement?….. and what difference does it make that it was a female officer?… and “red eyes”, consistent with the later mentioned crying is not enough pc to establish 23152. But this armchair wannabe cop assumes the released driver was dui.. The investigation became a criminal investigation once the officers correctly determined who in fact was intoxicated. The other driver then became the victim of a crime which is handled differently than an accident report. The DA and the insurance company will handle it from there with respect to the victim. Because the criminal was drunk, she should have never been on the road and therefore this would not have happened. Full stop.
Perhaps this “reporter” should educate themselves in law if they are going to stand on the sidewalk and make assumptions who is guilty or who isn’t particularly while injecting race and gender as factors, and not make veiled assumptions questioning professionally trained peace officers not doing his or her job correctly.
It’s a uspected DUI, but apparently YOU have all the answers, thanks for your input. I only write what I observed from the scene. Five or Six more cops came to the scene. Those supervisors wouyld have probably had more question.
But, hey thanks for the insults everyone. Have a nice day. LOL
You’re welcome.
Who You calling a “..Clown…” U, mouse!
*Suspected
*would have…
*questions
It’s a very sad story. It raises many questions. I never claimed to have all the answers. Props to Roger, I loved his introductory life-expierince narratives. I wish he was still on posting on here.
I am not attempting to be in law enforcement. I am giving you the best I can, and that’s all I can do. Reporting community sensitive occurrances is not an easy venture, especially as a volunteer.
Again, this is a sad story, a woman lost her freedom, her child was taken from her and it needs to raise more questions than immediate repercussions.
Thank you for the report Geo. This is a sad story and very sad for the child involved. I guess people prefer that you write like AI instead of a human.
“Ambulace chasers” were “lawers” trying to take a ca$es to court. LOL #history
sad
Don’t be a hater, it’s not good for you.
So you’re saying he made up the entire report? And these cars were just pulled over to have a chat? That’s a lot of accusations you’re throwing out there Mouse. And Roger always went on off topic rants, attacked commenters, made up crazy stories with a sliver of news in there somewhere.
ANONY – there’s really no “opinion” injected in this report, maybe some minor assumption or two. Sounds like this is really got you fired up. Why?
Because opinion reporting is for the national inquirer. If he wants to do this “gig”, he should do it factually. Biased reporting is garbage. He has no business or qualifications to question the processes of the PD. He wasn’t there when it happened, otherwise he would have been interviewed as a witness. He made a stupid assumption that one driver was drunk, all while trying to say the other, who was arrested for DUI, had the right of way. Again, he wasn’t there and doesn’t know, and the arrested driver had no business being there, so she did not have the right of way. He makes a point several times about the new inmate being a spanish speaker. What difference does that make? Does she get go drive DUI because she speaks spanish? On top of all that, the person in handcuffs also put a child at risk by her illegal activity. This is a fact supported by her booking sheet. Assumptions, conjecture, and uninformed accusations make him a number of things, but certainly NOT a reporter. He’s a fiction writer. He needs to get his mind right if he wants to put himself in the public domain. Too bad his little feelings are hurt, but welcome to reality.
The direct answer to your question Jon of many wild opinions, is that hopefully instead of coddling him like you all do, maybe this will make him take a look at himself and try to do better next time, which ultimately makes him a better person and community asset.
This.
Geo, you usually give pretty decent reports, but this one is HORRIBLE. It seems a a volunteer scanner reporter, whatever that is, you seem to know more about criminal moving violations then the police? C’mon man!
Yeah man, sorry Ya didn’t like this one. The info I had was all I could gather. The Tiguan was going South, just like my story. LoL 🙂
You realize this person is volunteering their time to report on things happening in town that most outlets don’t bother to cover… right? If you can do better, go for it.
PD already has a PIO. And KEYT has the Palm. They report actual facts. If you needed to know what was happening here, you would have known. This guy created a narrative to suit his agenda, publicly. He’s being called out on it.
ANONY – wait, if you “were there” at the scene, why have you spent the last day and half bashing Geo’s account of what he saw and thought without even mentioning that and/or providing your own accounting of what happened?
Now THIS is a great question.
Bro 90% or more of news reported by KEYT and Palm are things that almost no one needs to know.
This accident and the report, almost certainly has zero impact on anyone other than the people involved.
Big fucking deal
It’s nice to have reporting, but…
The whole report was so poorly composed and worded that it was often hard to tell which vehicle/occupants were being referred to from sentence to sentence (some incomplete).
This used to be “scanner traffic”, I posted occasionally along with helping Roger for over 25 years and this wannabe is a total joke. We posted only what LE and the dispatchers were saying. We posted “scanner traffic” and there were occasional errors because it was usually almost live broadcasts. We both used the codes and sometimes got complaints, but usually added the necessary info when we could. Look at his instagram site, it’s as incoherent as his website. I was posting SB Co Fire when it was needed for the traffic flow or even occasionally eminent danger but they are either already on top of it or Ed would often wait for the PIO report which sometimes was the next day. I also have posted Code 3 PD in the San Roque area because a lot of my neighbors, some of over 45 years here, often ask me what’s going on.
TAGDES – I bet Ed would let you do your own scanner reports if you ask. Not sure anything is stopping you from doing something the way you want it done. In the meantime though, insulting and belittling someone who is contributing is pretty lame. I’ve been on this site over 13 years now and I remember (and enjoyed) Roger’s rants. It was hardly “only what LE and the dispatchers were saying.”
So you’re a little new or don’t read much. It’s already been stated that I’ve been doing my own scanner reports for 25 years along with Roger and he wanted me to take over when he was leaving. If you have a problem with that you can ask Lauren. I said no because of people like you that just can’t wait to start an argument. Sure Roger had rants, but the actual facts, the same as when I did them were real reports from what was said by the PD and dispatcher not as dreamed up from these suppositions.
I’m neither, Tagdes. Why are you always so rude to people here? I’ve never seen you provide any encouragement or support, only rude or just cruel comments. Like these here. Why?
TAGDES – Dude, I’m cool with You. Don’t get all peanut butter and Jelly on me though, just ’cause I am experimenting with scanner traffic and citizen journalism. I’m learning, I’m not a pro like You or good ol’ Roger.
I’m not a “Private Dick.” The term comes from Romania by where “Dik ” means to see. It’s an old synonym for detective. LoL
Wow tagdes. You’re usually a grump but now you’re just being a jerk. If you think Roger never posted his opinion or conjecture or outright nonsensical rants then you need to check past posts.
I thought this was one of Geo’s better-written reports. I had no problem following which vehicle and driver he was referring to.
It certainly seems like a lot of cops, and an ambulance, for a minor accident with no visible or only minor damage.
As said before, this became a criminal investigating, not a traffic incident. The response is standard for the felony charges due to the disregard for a child’s safety. Child Endangerment and DUI are not traffic violations.
Anony Mouse – you mean, criminal investigation—not “…. criminal investigating.”
A simple DUI with no enhancements is a misdemeanor. I hope the endagengerment is challenged and dropped to keep it from becoming a felony. If there are no priors, the judge should be kind and let the mom enter a program to redeem her and her childs situation.
Come on, Get off my case!
Don’t take all the negative comments personally Geo. People love to criticize and the majority who do probably don’t even support this site that they enjoy for free. You’re actually contributing, thank you.
Weird how some people are so triggered by this report. It doesn’t impact them at all so why would they get so emotional about how Geo told the story?
I’m glad to read Geo’s account. It’s one person’s observations, and I don’t expect it to be any more than that. His narrative made sense to me. Geo, keep the reports coming.
Yeah Geo, I think you waded in way too deep when you posted this. A volunteer/citizen/bystander who comes up with that kind of Title (re-read it) and story is getting overextended. Zero respect for what you posted here. That’s my 2c.
Oh I’m sure he’s all broken up about losing your “respect” bwahaha! 🤣😅
Ha! Pretty rich, coming from Mr. Armchair!
Actually, I was there and know exactly what I’m talking about. This is why I take offense to wannabes questioning procedures they know nothing about.This guy can “report” what he sees all day long if he wants to, but he doesn’t get to insert his uninformed analysis into a public forum and call it a “report”. He doesn’t get to suggest the PD improperly investigated, he doesn’t get to decide anything. He doesn’t get to presume someone is drunk with zero supporting evidence, he doesn’t get to determine fault or who had right of way if he didn’t witness the (now a) crime. Even if he did witness it, a good lawyer would destroy him in court with an article like this. Zero credibility.
Remember everyone, a smart phone translator app, while rough, can enable a conversation to be had where needed
SBS – why would anyone need a translator app?
Sac – Once again finding my comments just to argue.
Petty.
It was mentioned that the police were called because a language barrier existed.
That’s exactly why a translator app would have helped here.
No, not at all. I was sincerely wondering why a translator app would be needed here. I guess I missed where the cops were called because of the language barrier.
No need to be lame about it. It’s not all about you all the time.
Hey, just remenber I Love U ALL. No B.S. stay Human, stay, Real. Que Know!!! Know, Now?
The Tiguan (18K) is the name of a car made by Volkswagen. Interesting name involved here. Peace, I’m out of the office for a while. LoL
“The Volkswagen Tiguan name is a combination of the German words for “tiger” and “iguana.”, not sure of your point?
I think some one thought I called the woman a Tijuanan (Tiguan), expressing that I was a racist or something. Like, the viral story of Jeanne Umana’s racist rants. Anony Mouse claims I am racially motivated, pure lies. Most of my friends are human. LoL
Actually, no. This is one person’s observations and opinions. He’s welcome to them just as you are welcome to criticize imo. He’s not the “Palm” (lofl) or the PD’s PIO, both of whom have a professional obligation. This is someone’s observation of an incident. Not a final judgment.
Don’t forget that the person arrested is INNOCENT until proven guilty, even here in the PR of Cali.
And it’s unlikely they would pursue a child endangerment charge based on reasonable doubt if the child is 6 and able to manipulate the strap or latch, the vehicles were parked and the drivers were out of the vehicles, and especially if data doesn’t prove intoxication. It doesn’t seem that the cops saw the vehicle when it was moving. And it hasn’t even been proven that she was actually under the influence of anything.
So cool down, wait for the facts, and pray for the people involved – hopeful they get back on track soon.
Exactly, lots of presumptions, assumptions, and speculation in this post, as several have said. Sure, it doesn’t affect me directly, but I care about truth vs. anything else, and that’s a major thing in journalism. Yes, I know the poster isn’t a journalist. We should all recognize that. Don’t believe everything you read, and let the professionals decide what happened.
Except (for you) in cases of medical interventions like vaccines and masking in pandemics.
I don’t post original articles kiddo, and you’re groveling.
“Don’t believe everything you read” – LOL yeah….no kidding.
Why are you so rabidly outraged about this? Still whining days later.
I don’t like jokers, like you. But I’m not outraged. Not at all.
Re-read the thread. Some Anon person came up w some bs about vaccines and COVID. Talk about whining. That’s you. Easy man, or are you a woman?
I’m not joking, “Doc”
And really, Mr. I got my masters in “studying insects” at a school with no entymology department, really? Insulting me by calling me a woman? Damn dude you are really a miserable, sexist, pile of something.
Be a better person, you misogynist joke.
And also, you started crying BEFORE the comment about vaccines so stow the BS, “Dr. Insects,” you’re stinking it up in here.
Wow, Sac! Not again. Ok, well here’s a news flash FOR JUST YOU:
You don’t have to have an Entomology Dept. at your University to study and publish scientific articles about insects.
Are you trying to be an amateur Sherlock Holmes or just another random internet stalker? Really, I want to know.
You’re the one coming up with constant personal insults. It’s lowball dude. You gotta know that. I’m not making sh-t up about myself, and the funny thing to me is that you are still, still not believeing someone has certain credentials. Weirdo.
Dude….. you keep putting your stuff out here, it’s open season. Marine or terrestrial?
Keep on baiting yourself.
Stalker. You’re embarrassing yourself. Totally off topic.
“Constant personal insults” bwahahaha!
Like “joker” like “are you a woman?” Like all the garbage you spew on here daily?
News flash for you, “doc”: calling someone out for non stop bragging about themselves is not “stalking.”
You’re upset at the wrong person here, Champ. Think about what you say.