The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office charged a Santa Barbara man Friday with driving under the influence and causing great bodily injury to two people in a wrong-way Highway 101 crash late on Christmas Day.
Teodulo Nava Clemente, 38, allegedly drove a Toyota Tundra pickup truck into oncoming traffic on the highway and hit another vehicle, a minivan, head-on near the Bath Street exit in Santa Barbara at about 11 p.m. Monday.
Clemente and two people in the other vehicle were injured and transported to the hospital, according to the California Highway Patrol, the agency investigating the crash.
At the time, they said two people had serious injuries and one person had moderate injuries.
In addition to DUI causing great bodily injury to two people, Clemente faces charges of a having blood alcohol level over 0.20%; driving into oncoming traffic; driving on a suspended and revoked license; and failure to provide proof of financial responsibility for the vehicle.
He is also charged with special allegations and enhancements, including having two DUI convictions in Santa Barbara County within the last 10 years. He had two DUI convictions in 2016, according to court records.
District Attorney John Savrnoch said in a statement Friday that this crash and one on Highway 166 emphasize “the extreme dangers and irrevocable ramifications” of driving under the influence.
Driver in both crashes have been charged with DUI in Superior Court.
Clemente had not been arraigned as of Friday afternoon.
Bladimir Agustin Chavez, 27, of Santa Maria faces manslaughter and DUI charges for allegedly causing a fatal head-on crash on Highway 166 near Santa Maria on Christmas Day.
Chavez allegedly crossed the double-yellow lines into oncoming traffic and slammed head-on into another vehicle. The driver of the other car – Gregorio Dominguez, 65, of Guadalupe – was killed.
Chavez was arraigned on the charges Wednesday and pleaded not guilty. A Superior Court judge rejected his request to be released from jail custody.
He is also accused of driving without a license and driving under the influence, with a blood alcohol content of 0.14%, making it nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08%.