Santa Barbara police have released the name of a man killed Saturday in a motorcycle racing incident on Foothill Road and say they’ve made an arrest in the case.
Three men were reported speeding on motorcycles near the 2300 block of Foothill Road when two collided with an oncoming SUV just after 1 p.m. Saturday, according to Sgt. Mike McGrew.
As a result of the collision, Raul Ibarra, 24, was killed, and Jonathan Leon, also 24, was seriously injured. Both men are from Santa Barbara. McGrew said that a third driver, suspect Francisco “Alex” Rodriguez, 23, returned to the scene but left before emergency personnel arrived.
A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was taken into his custody around 10:30 p.m. Saturday after a short foot chase near his home on Lou Dillon Lane.
Rodriguez faces charges of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit-and-run, engaging in a speed contest causing injury and improper license. He was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail with bail set at $100,000.
Prior to Saturday’s crash, McGrew said a family had been driving an SUV westbound on Foothill, when they saw one motorcyclist “go by at a high rate of speed.”
As they rounded a corner, they saw two more motorcyclists advancing down the road, and that Ibarra had been in the SUV’s lane. The vehicle collided with Ibarra and his motorcycle, and Leon also went down in the collision.
Leon and Ibarra were transported to the hospital, where Ibarra died Saturday night and Leon remains with serious injuries.
McGrew said one female passenger in the SUV was treated and released for a wrist injury.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.