Drinking and driving is like a dangerous game of Russian roulette. When someone is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, they are more likely to take risks that they might not otherwise take when sober. Driving while intoxicated and traveling at unsafe speeds or without headlights at night can almost guarantee that such risks will turn out badly.
ABC 3 in Santa Barbara reports that a driver who took such risks has been arrested on suspicion of DUI manslaughter after getting into a deadly crash in Santa Barbara late Sunday.
According to a statement released by the Santa Barbara Police Department, the two-vehicle head-on collision happened at approximately 8:20 p.m. on Camarillo Street near the intersection of Miramonte Drive.
Police investigators believe that a Nissan sedan being driven by 24-year-old Jose Fermin Lopez Jr. was traveling at an excessive rate of speed without his headlights on when his vehicle collided with a Mercedes.
Firefighters had to extricate both Lopez and the driver of the Mercedes from their vehicles. Paramedics found that both drivers had suffered severe injuries in the crash and were transported to an area hospital for treatment.
Despite all life-saving efforts by doctors, the driver of the Mercedes died as a result of injuries they suffered in the crash.
Investigators believe that Lopez had been under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the deadly crash.
The accident remains under investigation. No further details were available at the time of the report.
