DA Investigator Killed in Head-on Crash

Alleged drunken driver speeds away from CHP and crashes into two vehicles, killing DA's senior criminal investigator Laura Cleaves.

By Noozhawk Staff | Published on 05.02.2008

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A senior criminal investigator with the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office was killed late Thursday in a collision with a suspected drunken driver on Highway 154, just north of Highway 246 in Santa Ynez. A 22-year-old Santa Barbara woman was arrested in the case, the California Highway Patrol said.

Laura Cleaves, 53, of Santa Ynez, a senior DA’s investigator, was driving her Dodge Stratus westbound on Highway 154 when her vehicle was hit head-on by a Mercedes-Benz just before midnight. According to the CHP, the Mercedes driver, Ashley Johnigan, 22, of Santa Barbara, was arrested and booked on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.

CHP officers said they had pulled up behind the Mercedes moments earlier on eastbound Highway 154 near Armour Ranch Road after they received a call that that driver was possibly intoxicated. Officers found the sedan stopped, partially in the eastbound lane of the highway.

As the officers neared the car on foot, Johnigan reportedly sped away, heading east. She allegedly crossed over the dividing double yellow line into the westbound lane and collided head-on with Cleaves’ vehicle. After the crash, CHP officers said, the Mercedes continued down the road and hit a Ford Escape. Johnigan and the driver of the Ford Escape sustained minor injuries.

Highway 154 was closed until about 7:30 a.m. Friday while authorities investigated the scene.

The Coastal Division CHP Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (M.A.I.T.) is handling the collision investigation and the state Attorney General’s Office will be handling the prosecution of the case.

Cleaves’ husband, Steve, is a county sheriff’s sergeant and they have two adult daughters, Krista and Kelly. Memorial plans have not yet been set but a memorial account, the Laura Cleaves Memorial Fund, has been established at Santa Barbara Bank & Trust. Donations can be made at any branch.

Later Friday, a multiple-vehicle collision just west of the San Marcos Pass summit blocked traffic for about 90 minutes while the wreckage could be cleared. Three people were transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, one with moderate injuries, the others with minor injuries.

The 4 p.m. accident involved a GMC Sonoma pickup, a GMC Yukon, a Honda Accord and a stretch limousine. Alcohol and drugs were not determined to be a factor in the collision.

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» a guest on 05.03.08 @ 08:08 AM

When & how will we be able to keep drunks off the highways. Those [DUIs] that live should be made to scrub floors in the emergency rooms so they may witness what happens and work off some of that free time they have. AMS

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» a guest on 05.04.08 @ 01:12 AM

I wish there was someway to remove careless drivers - whether it be drunk drivers, drivers falling asleep, cellphone users, or drivers being distracted in other ways - from our roadways. But until that day comes, more safety features ought to be added to some of our more deadly roadways. Drivers on Highway 154 could greatly benefit from reflective tire bumpers on the center line. If 2 rows of these bumps were placed one on each side of the center line, this might be the split seconded needed for a "distracted" driver to regain control of their vehicle. This of course, wouldn’t have helped in the particular case of this collision, but it might prevent the deadly head-on crashes of other natures. RHC

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» a guest on 05.04.08 @ 06:53 AM

Another horrific wreck on 154—-how many more will it take to make it a safer road? I have travelled on 154 numerous times as a lifelong resident of SB and find that there are many measures that can be taken to make it safer. I know for sure the casino expansion and improvements haven’t helped. My deepest condolences to Laura’s family, friends and co-workers. And what a sad thing to happen just as D.A.Pat McKinley is set to retire.

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» a guest on 05.04.08 @ 01:21 PM

Wow, good thing Caltrans is taking $2.8 million in highway safety money and spending it on that suicide barrier on the Cold Spring Bridge.

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» a guest on 05.04.08 @ 03:22 PM

The next question is: Was this young lady drinking @ the CHUMASH CASINO? I can just hear it now.

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» a guest on 05.04.08 @ 11:05 PM

I have followed crazy drivers passing over the double yellow line, speeding, tailgating on 154 etc. both to and from the casino. Evidently those willing to gamble away their money in the unregulated and uninspected slot machines there, are also willing to gamble with their lives and the lives of other innocent motorists. On two occasions when I traveled up 154 at 3:30 and 4:00 a.m. I made it a point to count the cars comming down 154 from the 246 intersection and Foothill where I got on. the first time there were 42 caqrs. The second 49 cars. I have been trveling that road for 40 years and it wouod have been remarkable to have seen a handfull of cars comming down that road at that hour of the morning. Many were speeding, some were weaving in their traffic lane either drunk or very sleepy. The "tribe" has applied to expand their liquor license so they can serve alcohol in the casino along with the 18 year olds they let in there to gamble away their money. The mayhem is likely to get a lot worse, particularly in light of the fact that the out dated court created legal immunity doctrine still protects recognized Indian tribes and their businesses from any liability for their misdeeds and from obeying all the laws that every other person and business has to abide by and be legally responsible for. You won’t read anything about these things or the prevalence of drugs and crime at the casino in the News Press which, thanks to Travis Armstrong, is in the hip pocket of this 153 member "tribe" of fractional (claimed) descendants of Native California Indians. Like the infamous three monkeys, He can see no evil, hear no evil and say nothing evil despite what is really going on there giving new momentum to the storied moniker "NEWS SUPPRESS.

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» a guest on 05.04.08 @ 11:50 PM

We should not divert blame by asking WHERE she got drunk. Only one person is to blame and has to take responsibility for this horrible accident and that is she who drank and drove.

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» a guest on 05.05.08 @ 12:33 AM

It is clear the ultimate blame for a drunk driving death is on the drunk person who is driving and causes the death (s). But that does not mean we shouldn’t take steps to make it more difficult for them to pursue their deadly folly by allowing expansion of attractive nuisances, particularly those owned and operated by people who can claim they are above the laws everyone else has to abide by because of a quirky line of court cases, decided years ago for entirely different reasons. A common law doctrine developed to protect what were then dependent, nascent Indian tribes, most often made up of real Indians and not fractional descendants, from any external interference in their purely internal tribal business. It was never a rule of law intended to allow Indian "tribes" of often questionable ancestry, and considered a "tribe" simply because they have been "recognized" by the Indian dominated bureaucracy of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to then be exempt from all the laws of society and immune from legal liability in the operation of their casinos and businesses. Highly profitable businesses, open to the non-Indian public and which have frequent dealings with the unsuspecting non-Indian public who patronize them without realizing they have no legal rights or protections while doing so.

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» a guest on 05.05.08 @ 12:47 AM

I must disagree with the writer who wrote that "we should not divert blame by asking WHERE she got drunk." A person who chooses to drive after consuming alcoholic beverages should be held responsible for their actions. It appears that will happen to the driver in this case. However, businesses that sell or dispense alcoholic beverages in this state have a legal and moral responsibility to do so in a responsible manner. Investigators should be asking where the driver got her alcohol and was it given to her in a responsible manner.

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» a guest on 05.05.08 @ 11:14 AM

She was drinking at the Maverick

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» a guest on 05.06.08 @ 12:38 AM

Why do you feel the need to co-blame a restaurant/bar/indian tribe etc.? She could have been drinking at home. What the people of this country neeed to learn is to take personal responsibility.

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» a guest on 05.06.08 @ 12:46 AM

Why not set up sobriety checkpoints on 154, north of 246, after midnight to catch anyone driving under the influence? Word will spread around quickly and, hopefully, will deter or catch those irresponsible idiots who choose to risk the lives of others. I have no sympathy for drunk drivers and couldn’t care less what they do to themselves. DA

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» a guest on 05.07.08 @ 01:00 AM

People break laws everyday and then get angry when someone calls them on their bad behavior. They run yellow AND red lights, do not give the right of way to pedestrians and bicyclers (both of whom also need to follow the rules!), they speed, they tailgate and basically think that they should come first. There is something that ALL drivers need to learn…no one has an automatic right to a driver’s license or to get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Rather, you EARN the right by learning and abiding by the laws that are put in place to protect everyone. Learn the laws, follow them and STOP ranting and raving about your "right" to drive as you please. Someone’s life may be as stake!

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» a guest on 05.08.08 @ 05:59 AM

She is out on bail. after pulling away when the cops first came upon her. what is with this scene?

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» a guest on 05.08.08 @ 06:02 AM

forgot to say. invaded the first meeting with the police, killing a lovely person, hitting another car and injurying that driver deserves her to be bailed out to await trial. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

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