Edhat Staff
Source: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
At approximately 12:30 a.m. this morning, February 11, 2018, Sheriff’s Detectives with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Bureau (S.I.B) assigned to patrol the Montecito disaster area observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed and failing to stop at stop signs in the area of Coast Village Road. Detectives caught up to the vehicle and initiated an enforcement stop. The vehicle failed to yield and entered the US 101 Southbound continuing to drive recklessly. Detectives initiated a vehicle pursuit in an attempt to apprehend the driver. The vehicle eventually exited into the Summerland area and failed to negotiate a right turn while exiting the freeway. The vehicle crashed onto the Union Pacific train tracks which caused the passenger’s side front axle to shear off and the vehicle to become disabled.
The driver, 40-year-old Rebecca Amaya of Camarillo failed to comply with verbal commands. Amaya was eventually negotiated away from her vehicle and taken into custody without further incident.
A records check revealed Amaya’s driver’s license was suspended and she is on DUI probation out of Ventura County with a no alcohol clause. Amaya was arrested for the violations of 23152(a) VC- Felony driving under the influence, 2800.2(a) VC-Felony evading a peace officer 14601.2(a) VC- Driving on a suspended license.
Amaya was booked at Santa Barbara County Jail with a bail set at $100,000.
Good she totaled her vehicle….Hopefully that will slow her down for a bit.
Our current system makes it too easy for DUI drivers to pay the fines and get back on the road. This is getting ridiculous!!
THEREALBEBE: You make that sound like a BAD thing.
When someone uses a gun during a crime they get solid time maybe 5 years in the joint will make them feel differently about DUI/Drinking and driving.
Just bring back the death penalty that would take care of a lot of stuff and free up room in the joint.
Hopefully this will be less of a problem in the future as ALL drunk drivers will get a ignition interlock device next year. The fine for driving w/o an interlock device (borrowed car) is very high ($7000+)
I mean, the jails are full. It’s a real problem.
I mean, the jails are full. It’s a real problem.
The jails are already full. It’s a problem.
Ever hear of sardines?
Lock them up where? We can’t imprison every DUI driver for “ten years” unless we start building more jails/prisons. Do we really need that? I mean, if they kill/injure someone, then ok, jail time. But repeat DUIs should be fined HEAVILY and put on house arrest or something else. We can’t just keep “locking up” everyone who breaks the law.
Imagine if we put as much effort into preventing other types of crime as we do for DUIs. Checkpoints, PR campaigns, demonstrations and staged car wrecks at high schools, cops wandering around bars “warning” people about the dangers of DUI… What if we spent even a fraction of this time/money/effort on things like, I don’t know…. GUN crimes???
“We can’t imprison every DUI driver for “ten years” unless we start building more jails/prisons. ”
The prisons are filled with people who committed victimless “crimes”. Let them all go, and put DUIs in their place.
Look, I have plenty of ill will for people who drive drunk – my best friend was killed in a DUI crash 3 years ago – but I also believe we shouldn’t be implementing more severe sentences every year. Harsh punishment is not a great deterrent for drunk people – they aren’t thinking about consequences, they are thinking how they “won’t get caught this time.”
As a society, we need to get out of the mindset that harsher criminal sentences is the answer to every problem. We need to be focusing on education, diversion, and safe alternatives. Just think if we diverted the ridiculous amounts of money dedicated to wasteful DUI checkpoints, incarceration, and ineffective programs towards a service like AAA’s Tipsy Tow. Hell, create a government subsidized tow truck service that operates like Uber and I would bet that the DUI rate would drop dramatically at no more cost to taxpayers than our current ineffective system.
DUI is still one of the leading causes of death in this country, we waste huge amounts of money on a system that has outlived its effectiveness, and encourage our broken system of mass incarceration – why can’t we consider alternatives? I am talking real alternatives, not expanding the bulls*** programs we currently force DUI offenders to go through.