Photo: Stock Image
Three hours after the midnight hour on the Sunday morning of August 13, 2023, traffic in the U.S. 101 southbound lanes through Montecito were almost devoid of traffic. In spite of the absence of the usual weekday vehicle congestion at the point where on going CalTrans construction pinches the three-lane highway down to two lanes, a Toyota Camry traveling at a high rate of speed managed to slam into a Mercury Mountaineer SUV, forcing the larger vehicle to careen off the pavement and plunge down a steep embankment just off the roadway shoulder.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Jarrett Morris, 77-year-old Santa Paula resident Louis Hernandez Jr. was a passenger in the SUV and was catapulted from the vehicle as it tumbled down the embankment, fatally injuring him. The driver of the Mountaineer, 67-year-old Virginia Montelongo “suffered moderate injuries” and had to be extricated from the wreckage by Montecito Fire Department responders.
The driver of the Toyota Camry, 22-year-old Port Hueneme resident Ricki Newton “sustained minor injuries” along with her two passengers. The on-scene investigation determined that Newton was driving under the influence at the time of the accident.
Six months later, on March 1st , Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Michelle Mossembekker filed felony charges against Newton, whereupon she was arrested and booked for felony Dui with gross negligence and now faces a potential sentence of six years in state prison.
