The dining parklet in front of a popular downtown pub was obliterated by a suspected drunken driver over the weekend, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department.
At about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, a red sedan was driving westbound when it slammed into the parklet in front of the Press Room at 15 E. Ortega St., Commander Kasi Corbett told Noozhawk.
“It looked like they drove a Mack truck through it,” Corbett said.
Witnesses reported that the sedan fled the scene westbound, and was located nearby by officers who responded to the scene.
A traffic stop was made, and officers found the vehicle occupied by a driver and one passenger, Corbett said.
Investigators determined that “the passenger was actually the driver at the time of the collision,” Corbett said.
She identified that person as Kiana Murillo, 21, of Lincoln, California.
She was arrested and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of drunken driving, hit-and-run, and furnishing alcohol to someone under 21 years of age, Corbett said.
The woman behind the wheel at the time of the traffic stop — who was the passenger when the crash occurred — was identified as Grace Wells, 20, of Santa Barbara, Corbett said.
She was booked into County Jail on suspicion of drunken driving, hit-and-run, and being a minor driving under the influence, Corbett said.
Both women are students, and neither was in custody on Monday, according to online jail records.
No injuries were reported in the incident, Corbett said.