Two Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies were trapped after a car they were pursuing crashed into a utility pole near Lompoc on Saturday afternoon, sending live wires onto their patrol vehicle, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
At approximately 3:50 p.m., county firefighters, the Lompoc Fire Department, sheriff’s deputies, the California Highway Patrol and an American Medical Response ambulance responded to the scene on Highway 246 near Sweeney Road, county Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason said.
The deputies were chasing a white Honda Civic when the car’s driver lost control and slammed into a power pole, snapping it in half and sending utility lines to the ground, sheriff’s Sgt. Garrett TeSlaa said.
Live wires reportedly fell on the deputies’ vehicle and blocked at least one lane of the roadway, leading to a closure of Highway 246, Eliason said.
The deputies remained stuck in the vehicle because of the live lines.
“They did the right thing,” Eliason said. “If there are lines down on your vehicle, you stay in your car. They did absolutely the right thing by staying put.”
The pursuit began when deputies spotted a man sought for a no-bail warrant driving the 1988 Honda near Highway 1 and Purisima Road.
Deputies attempted to initiate a traffic stop but the driver sped away reaching speeds up to 80 mph over the 4.5-mile chase that lasted five minutes, TeSlaa added.
The driver, Sean Delorean Saggese, 28, received major injuries in the crash and extricated himself from the wreckage before collapsing on the roadway.
CHP and Lompoc police officers rescued the man despite the danger from the live wires to ensure he could received medical treatment at the scene, TeSlaa said.
Saggese was taken to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria for treatment of major injuries.
A Pacific Gas & Electric Co. crew arrived at the scene to de-ernergize the power lines.
The deputies were not injured in the incident.
Saggese was arrested on suspicion of felony evading of law enforcement, violation of probation and his warrant, TeSlaa said.
The passenger, Sara Cantu, 26, freed herself from the wrecked vehicle and was taken into custody for an outstanding misdemeanor warrant, TeSlaa said. She later was given a citation and released to seek medical treatment for minor injuries from the crash.
Both lanes of Highway 246 were closed for some time, he added.
Complicating matters, the crash occurred near the end of the 36th annual Santa Barbara Vintners Festival at River Park where ride-sharing drivers were trying to pick up customers.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.