SBPDPIO
Update by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office
November 30, 2021
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce E. Dudley announced today that a felony complaint has been filed against Raul Gonzalez, 48, of Santa Barbara. All charges stem from a collision on November 27, 2021, at E. Cota St. and N. Salsipuedes St. in Santa Barbara, which resulted in the death of Kenneth Sterling. Mr. Gonzalez was the driver of a Jeep Patriot that rear-ended a moped driven by Mr. Sterling.
Mr. Gonzalez is charged with the following felony counts: one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, in violation of Penal Code section 191.5(a) and one count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing, in violation of Vehicle Code section 23153(a). Additionally, it is further alleged that Mr. Gonzalez personally inflicted great bodily injury to a victim over seventy years of age within the meaning of Penal Code section 12022.7(c).
Mr. Gonzalez was arraigned today, November 30, 2021, and entered not guilty pleas to the charges. Mr. Gonzalez’s case was continued for Preliminary Hearing Setting on December 16, 2021 in Department 10 of the Santa Barbara Superior Court. Bail has been set at $100,000.
Motorcyclist Identified in Fatal DUI Collision
Update by the Santa Barbara Police Department
November 29, 2021
The Santa Barbara Police Department has identified the motorcyclist that died in the November 27, 2021, fatal traffic collision as 78-year-old Santa Barbara resident, Kenneth Warfield Sterling Sr.
This case is still under investigation.
Motorcyclist Killed in DUI Collision
Update by the Santa Barbara Police Department
November 27, 2021
On November 27, 2021, around 1:55pm, the Santa Barbara Police Combined Communications Center received multiple reports of a serious injury traffic collision near the intersection of East Cota Street and Salsipuedes Street. The collision involved three vehicles and a motorcycle.
Santa Barbara Police, Fire, and AMR Paramedics responded to the scene. Officers discovered an adult male unresponsive laying in the roadway. A motor officer was first on scene, rendered aid, and soon fire, and paramedics arrived.
In the early stages of the investigation, it appears the motorcyclist was driving south in the 600 block of North Salsipuedes Street, near Ortega Park. A Jeep SUV was also driving south behind the motorcyclist and rear-ended the motorcycle, ultimately ejecting him approximately 85 feet before landing in the roadway. The Jeep then collided with a parked Dodge Ram Pick-up truck. The motorcycle was struck with such force it careened riderless half a city block before colliding with a parked Toyota sedan in the 500 block of North Salsipuedes Street.
Tragically, the motorcyclist sustained serious injuries and was pronounced dead at the collision scene. The Critical Accident Reconstruction Team responded and is currently investigating this collision. The roads in this area will be closed to all vehicles and pedestrians for several hours, please avoid the area.
The driver of the Jeep and believed to be at-fault in the collision, Raul A. Gonzalez, a 48-year-old Santa Barbara resident is suspected of being DUI at the time of the collision and was placed under arrest. He was transported to Cottage Emergency Room from the scene of the collision for evaluation and discharged from the hospital without sustaining injuries. Gonzalez is currently being charged with felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and felony DUI causing injury / death. He was booked in the Santa Barbara County Jail with $1,000,000 bail.
This case is still under investigation and no other information is available at this time. The decedents name is being withheld until family can be notified.
By an edhat reader
November 27, 2021
Fatal collision at Cota and Salsipuedes. Looks like a moped and two vehicles.
Amen. Police and Council need to step up… big time.
Vision Zero means the current city council majority is not looking for solutions for our chronic city problems. Vagrants, traffic safety, growing crime, gang criminal activity, non-viable public transit and even worse streets and sidewalks, unsustainable city employee pension debt, unbalanced city budgets, and long-standing staffing bloat. The current majority do not see these as problems, which is why they have Vision Zero when it comes to solutions. Keep electing fresh blood until a new city council majority will work towards getting results; rather than offering only blame and petulant remorse. We also need to have their backs once we understand they are working for us; and not for the dysfunctional status quo. We are in this together.
@Transparent : Fully agree .
That is where this “woke” society leads us : “Oh ! those “poor” killers : they’ll feel soooo bad about what they’ve done : we shouldn’t punish them !!!” and let them (or others) repeat and repeat and repeat ..
à 2403 :
Fully agree !
Just go to the Tuesday Farmer’s market on State Street : Signs CLEARLY indicate : NO bicycle, rollers, skateboard etc. EXCLUSIVELY pedestrians and you’ll see electric bikes zooming by at 30 MPH yelling at you if you don’t jump aside fast enough and NEVER one single cop to STOP those thugs ! One day someone is going to get very badly hurt and then “well meaners” will come out and say : “oh ! let’s not be mean to them” !
Maybe true May3591, maybe not. Many DUI drivers reoffend and paint themselves as the victim somehow.
How long will it take for the City Council to ask SBPD Chief for an explanation for their lack of traffic enforcement in the City? If you make the laws, you must also enforce them.
We elected Rowse, right? I’m sure he will address all of your problems…..
Being sick with the flu or a bad cold also impairs your driving like being 0.10, should we make that a mandatory life sentence also?
First time DUI with a 0.10 costs you $10K minimum. I would suggest reserving more severe punishments for repeat DUIs and 1st timers with 0.20 or more.
PitMix — you elected and keep electing the dysfunctional majority on city council. Rowse will need some help. He can’t do this alone. See if you can get your team to get out of their own vision zeros pitch in to confront the growing list of city concerns you now demand new mayor Randy Rowse solve singlehandedly. Doesn’t work that way – so demanding one person solve problems created by a seven person city council is also vision zero. Rowse as mayor and in charge of the meeting agendas at best can concentrate more focus on local issues, rather than ineffectual, global virtue-signaling matters well outside the province of the city council. Rowse can start a re-direction, but not when others think it is more important to sabotage him for partisan political gain rather than building a new and pragmatic approach to city government. That was the message votes sent from both sides of the political spectrum who put Randy in the mayors seat. One gets elected to city council to manage the city for the best interests of all residents; not to hand out free money to narrow groups of constituents in order to get re-elected and then walk away after being term-limited out. New day, new vision,. Hop on board – your help is needed too, instead of just sniping from the sidelines.