East Valley Road in Montecito was shut down by the California Highway Patrol on Friday afternoon along the stretch where a woman was killed and another seriously injured earlier this month.
The road, also known as State Route 192, was closed at midafternoon between Sheffield Drive and Ortega Ridge Road, according to witnesses and CHP dispatch.
Law enforcement and Santa Barbara County prosecutors have remained tight-lipped about the details of the June 6 incident that claimed the life of Allison Meadows, 26, of Santa Barbara, and seriously injured Lindsay Keebler, 25, of Santa Barbara.
However, a source told Noozhawk the road was shut down for further investigation and collection of evidence.
Lanie Tyrone Richardson, 28, of Santa Barbara has been charged with second-degree murder and other felonies stemming from what sources previously told Noozhawk was a “car surfing” accident.
Richardson, who originally was described by authorities as a “good Samaritan,” was the driver of a Toyota 4-Runner involved in incident, the CHP has said.
He was charged earlier this week with multiple felony counts, including second-degree murder; manslaughter while intoxicated with gross negligence, causing great bodily injury to another person, and with prior DUI convictions; DUI causing serious bodily injury with prior DUI convictions; and driving with a license that has been suspended or revoked due to DUI.
Richardson has three previous DUI convictions and a misdemeanor alcohol offense, as well as drug and sex-crime convictions that landed him in state prison.
He was being held at the County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Meadows suffered massive head injuries and died shortly after being brought to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in a private vehicle by Richardson and another man, whose name has not been released. Both men initially were described by the CHP as “good Samaritans” who claimed they had found the injured women on the roadway east of Sheffield Drive. Apparently, no 9-1-1 calls were made to report the incident.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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