A Santa Barbara man has died of injuries he suffered earlier this month in a vehicle accident near Refugio State Beach that occurred during a police pursuit.
Michael D. Garcia, 58, passed away Thursday night, according to Kelly Hoover, a spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau.
Garcia had been in critical condition at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital following the collision on Oct. 1 on Highway 101, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Garcia, who reportedly worked for the city of Santa Barbara, suffered brain injuries in the crash, and had several strokes while in surgery, according to messages posted by a family member on Facebook.
He reportedly was taken off life support Thursday evening.
The incident began in the city of Lompoc, where police attempted to contact Dinara Arevalo, 24, of Lompoc, who was driving a white Toyota RAV4, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Arevalo fled south on Highway 1, and was pursued by Lompoc officers and Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies.
The CHP took over the chase once it reached Highway 101.
Arevalo was driving reckelessly, including at high speeds and on the right-hand shoulder, the CHP said, and collided with a black Toyota Tacoma pickup truck north of Refugio State Beach.
The pickup overturned and crashed off the right side of the roadway, near the railroad tracks, while the RAV4 rolled and came to rest in the center median.
The two occupants of the pickup — Garcia and Brett J. Bronstad, 60, of Santa Barbara — were seriously injured, and were transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Bronstad reportedly was treated and subsequently released.
Arevalo appeared uninjured, but was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
She subsequently was arrested on felony charges of evading a police officer and causing great bodily injury, and is scheduled to return to court in Lompoc on Tuesday.
However, the District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the charges against Arevalo in the wake of Garcia’s death, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Mag Nicola.
“I can tell you only that we are still evaluating whether additional charges will be filed, and that we won’t have a decision until her next court date,” Nicola told Noozhawk.
Arevalo remained in custody Friday at Santa Barbara County Jail, with bail set at $150,000.
— 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.