The wrong-way driver who died after causing a fiery crash with a Chumash Casino Resort bus near Los Alamos in late June has been identified as the same man who vandalized a Santa Barbara church months earlier.

Following DNA testing, authorities confirmed that Antonio Dorado Arroyo, 54, whose last known address was Santa Barbara, died in the crash, California Highway Patrol Officer Maria Barriga said Monday.

At approximately 3:15 a.m. on June 26, personnel from the California Highway Patrol and American Medical Response responded to a crash on southbound Highway 101 south of Palmer Road. 

Emergency crews discovered that a passenger vehicle, a Honda Civic, had been traveling northbound in the southbound lanes and had been involved in a head-on collision with a bus.

The vehicle became “fully engulfed in fire upon impact,” firefighters said at the time, adding that the flames spread to the bus and adjacent brush in the center divider.

More than a dozen people were on board the bus, and some had minor to moderate injuries. They were treated at Marian Regional Medical Center.

The bus carried employees of the Chumash Casino at the time of the crash. Along with operating buses for customers, the tribe provides complimentary bus transportation for workers around the clock via the Employee Shuttle Service to and from Santa Maria, Lompoc and Solvang.

Weeks after the crash, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office representatives said they were awaiting DNA testing results from the Department of Justice to confirm the identity of the driver because of the condition of the body.

However, reports have circulated for months that he was the same person who vandalized Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Santa Barbara in early December 2025.

Armed with a hammer, a man damaged a mosaic depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe and church pews.

In an interview with Noozhawk in July, Father Pedro Lopez of Our Lady of Guadalupe said he had already known about Dorado Arroyo’s death from the man’s brother, who attends Mass at the church.

“Very tragic thing,” he said.

Currently, a temporary fix adorns the Virgen de Guadalupe’s face, not by the church’s doing but by a community member, according to Lopez.

“They miss seeing her face there, and that’s why I say it’s perfectly fine that someone put it on there,” he told Noozhawk in July.

The Virgen de Guadalupe mosaic faces the road behind a metal fence and sees multiple visitors daily, many of whom bring her flowers and candles, according to Lopez.

Lopez also told Noozhawk in July that church leaders initially had been waiting for the outcome of Dorado Arroyo’s court case before restorations could get going.

Repairing the mosaic is estimated to cost around $30,000, according to Lopez.

“The reason why it is costly is not only the mosaic damage, but the backing on the base on which it stands is damaged,” he said.

A criminal complaint filed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court after Dorado Arroyo’s arrest included four felony charges, including assault on a peace officer, second-degree commercial burglary, vandalism exceeding $400 and vandalism of religious property.

He pleaded guilty to one count of felony vandalism earlier this year, with the other charges dropped. He was sentenced to 76 days, serving 38 actual days plus receiving good time/work time credit for another 38 days.

A judge and attorneys were scheduled to meet in July to set a date for a restitution hearing to determine how much Dorado Arroyo owed the church for the damage.

He also was placed on formal probation for two years.

Court records show Dorado Arroyo also had a number of traffic violations, including one from April for driving without having a license.