Santa Maria police arrested a man they said was involved in a fatal traffic accident that killed 24-year-old woman, ending their search for a suspect since the incident earlier this month.
Vincent David Ortiz, 28, of Santa Maria was taken into custody Tuesday on charges of vehicular manslaughter, carjacking, kidnapping witness intimidation, and possession of stolen vehicle and violating parole, according to a statement from the Santa Maria Police Department.
Officers had been looking for Ortiz since the Oct. 13 fatal accident in the 700 block of South Blosser Road.
Police said Ortiz was the driver of a stolen 1995 Honda Accord at the time of the accident, when the car drifted to the right of the road way, striking a light pole, shearing it off at the base.
Investigators said that Tina Antoinnette Ramos, 24, was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.
Police said Ortiz fled the scene by carjacking another vehicle with two occupants at gun point. The two occupants in the carjacking were not injured.
Police located Ortiz at 1:34 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Boone Street and Miller Avenue, and took him into custody without incident.
He was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
