A lieutenant with the UCSB Police Department faces three misdemeanor criminal charges in Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria following an alleged drunken-driving crash in the Santa Ynez Valley.
Lt. Bradley Prows, 60, of Buellton has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a blood alcohol content over 0.08%, and hit-and-run.
The charges stem from an incident at approximately 7 p.m. Aug. 7 when a caller reported to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office that a hit-and-run had occurred on Highway 246 at Fourth Place in Solvang, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A 2016 Honda Odyssey driven by Rana Sibani, 54, of La Mesa had slowed to a stop to pull into a parking space, the CHP said.
Prows was following the westbound Honda in his 2017 Ford F-350 truck when he attempted to pass the other vehicle, according to officials.
As a result, the right side of Prows’ truck struck the left side of the Honda, but Prows continued driving west on Highway 246 with Sibani following and attempting to flag him down, the CHP said. After about a mile, Prows pulled to the right shoulder and stopped.
The incident was reported to Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies, who arrived and later requested that CHP officers respond to investigate the incident, although it occurred in Solvang city limits. Sheriff’s deputies serve as the police force in Solvang.
The criminal complaint listed Prows’ blood alcohol content at 0.15%, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08%.
Prows was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, issued a citation and released, according to the CHP. That isn’t unusual because of the distance from the Santa Ynez Valley to any of the jail facilities and staffing issues, CHP officers said.
The misdemeanor criminal complaint was filed Sept. 16.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office sent a letter to Prows instructing him to show up at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 10 to Superior Court in Santa Maria for his arraignment hearing.
At the time of the crash, Prows had a passenger in the truck, and Sibani had two passengers in her vehicle. No one was injured in the crash, the CHP said.
Prows works for UCSB as the lieutenant for the services division, including the detective bureau and the community outreach team. After the arrest, he was placed on administrataive leave, UCSB officials said.
Prows retired in 2012 from the CHP after more than 29 years and achieving the rank of sergeant. He began working for the UCSB Police Department as an officer in 2013 before being promoted to sergeant and then lieutenant.
In 2015, Prows was among the recipients of the H. Thomas Guerry Awards for Valor in response to the Isla Vista mass murders in May 2014.
— 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.