A roadside landscape maintenance worker was struck by a vehicle and killed Wednesday afternoon in Goleta, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident occurred shortly after 3 p.m. on Storke Road near Bollay Drive.
The maintenance worker was on the southbound side of the roadway when he was struck by the vehicle, which then reportedly drove to a nearby hotel.
The victim — identified Thursday morning as Ruben Reyes Victoria, 29, of Goleta — was declared dead at the scene despite efforts to revive him, according to the county Fire Department.
The suspect driver — identified as David Z. Rousso, 19 — was arrested a short time later on the 400 block of Storke Road, according to Raquel Zick, sheriff’s public information officer.
“Rousso’s booking charges and bail amount are pending,” Zick said Wednesday evening.
Drugs and alcohol are not believed to be a factor in this collision, Zick added.
One southbound lane of Storke Road was shut down between Bollay Drive and Santa Felicia Drive for a time after the collision.
Scot Alderete, Santa Barbara County Fire Department battalion chief, told Noozhawk a sheriff’s deputy performed CPR on the victim, who was found in the bike lane, before he was pronounced deceased.
A couple who witnessed the incident told Noozhawk they were driving behind the suspect vehicle, which they said was a white Toyota Corolla, and saw the impact.
The witnesses, who asked not to be identified, said the driver started to leave the scene, then slowed down before driving away.
“We followed him, and he went to the hotel and parked there,” one of them said.
The witness said he took the vehicle’s license plate number and a picture of the car, and then called 9-1-1.
Victoria apparently was an employee of Kitson Landscape Management, and a group of the company’s workers stood on the sidewalk next to the Camino Real Marketplace after the collision.
He leaves behind his wife and two young children, and a GoFundMe account has been set up to help with funeral expenses and to benefit his family.
As of Thursday afternoon, it had received $1,200 of a $50,000 goal.