Authorities on Thursday released the name of the man who was killed last week in a suspected DUI crash on Highway 101 near Carpinteria.
The victim was Sergio Honorio Sanchez, 21, of Oxnard, according to Raquel Zick, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
Sanchez was a passenger in a Nissan sedan that collided with a semi truck on southbound Highway 101 near the Padaro Lane offramp at about 2:15 a.m. Friday.
The sedan was traveling in the left lane and crashed into the back of an asphalt dump truck, then veered off the right shoulder and slammed into two trees, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The driver of the Nissan, Jonathan Jair Montoya, 21, of Oxnard, suffered major injuries in the collision, and was taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Montoya subsequently was arrested, and has been charged with three felonies: gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence causing injury, and driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08% or more, according to Santa Barbara Superior Court records.
He also faces three criminal-enhancement charges.
Montoya’s arraignment has been continued twice this week, and he is schedule to return to court on Friday.
However, he remained hospitalized on Thursday, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
