While the investigation is continuing, few details have been released about the circumstances of the Sunday evening hit-and-run crash that claimed the lives of a Goleta couple.
Mary Jane and Adolfo Corral both suffered fatal injuries when they were struck by a car while walking their dog on a bike path along Cathedral Oaks Road east of Ellwood Ridge Road near the western edge of Goleta.
The crash occurred at about 5:15 p.m., and the alleged driver, Eric Mauricio Ramirez Aguilar, 39, of Goleta, was arrested more than three hours later in Carpinteria.
Aguilar was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving while intoxicated causing injury, hit and run causing death or injury, fleeing the scene after committing manslaughter, and driving while intoxicated, with an enhancement for causing the deaths of more than one person.
He remained in custody Monday night, with bail raised to more than $1 million.
Aguilar allegedly was intoxicated while behind the wheel of a blue Nissan 370Z Roadster convertible that was westbound on Cathedral Oaks Road, west of Brandon Drive.
Orange paint markers placed by investigators and tire tracks through the vegetation show that, after leaving the curving section of roadway, Aguilar’s car continued along the bike path and through the adjacent grass and shrubs for at least 100 yards before coming to a stop, perpendicular to the roadway, against a chain-link fence.
Authorities have not said how fast they believe the vehicle was traveling.
Along the way, the car struck the Corrals, who both suffered critical injuries.
Adolfo Corral, 44, was declared dead at the scene, while Mary Jane Corral, also 44, was rushed to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where she died a short time later.
Their dog apparently escaped injury, and eventually was found and turned over to a family member.
The driver fled the scene on foot, setting off an intense manhunt with the help of two K-9 units.
Authorities were able to quickly determine Aguilar’s identity after running the crashed vehicle’s registration, which reportedly came back to an address in the Ellwood neighborhood on the other side of Highway 101.
Deputies went to the address, where they reportedly spoke to a relative of Aguilar, and obtained a photo of him.
The Sheriff’s Department has not revealed how Aguilar was able to elude capture and flee the area, or how he came to be a passenger in a vehicle Sunday night when he was arrested in Carpinteria.
Sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick said Monday that investigators were not ready to release that information.
Police radio traffic indicated the driver was returning from Ventura County after becoming aware that Aguilar was wanted in connection with a hit-and-run crash.
Authorities reportedly waited until the vehicle in which he was riding was back in Santa Barbara County, presumably for jurisdictional reasons, before making the traffic stop on the Casitas Pass Road exit ramp on northbound Highway 101.
The driver, whose name has not been released, immediately got out of the vehicle, according to police radio traffic, but Aguilar refused to comply. A Spanish-speaking deputy was brought in, along with a K-9 unit, and he eventually surrendered without incident.
No charges were filed against Aguilar on Monday, District Attorney Joyce Dudley told Noozhawk.
Prosecutors are waiting for the investigation to be completed before deciding what charges he will face, she said, adding that he likely will make his first court appearance in the case later this week.
A well-attended community vigil was held Monday evening near the crash site, where makeshift memorials of flowers, candles and heart-felt messages were growing by the hour.
Details about funeral services for the Corrals were pending Monday night.
— 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.