A woman was arrested Wednesday afternoon after she crashed the allegedly stolen vehicle she was driving into a parking sign and residential fence in Santa Barbara’s Eastside neighborhood.
Santa Barbara Police Sgt. Joshua Morton said a patrol officer spotted a Nissan on the 400 block of Garden Street that had been reported missing, and called in backup for a lights-and-sirens traffic stop on the 900 block of Haley Street.
He said officers initiated a pursuit after the driver sped off in response, but it was called off after the Nissan started to hit a “much higher speed” and a chase became unsafe.
After running stop signs and committing other vehicle code violations, the car ended up hitting another vehicle near Alisos and Carpinteria streets.
“The suspect vehicle did not stop after the initial collision and drove east toward La Cadena Street on Carpinteria Street,” Morton said. “As it neared La Cadena Street, it collided with a second vehicle and a city parking sign and was disabled.”
Police nabbed the driver — identified as 26-year-old Luisa Lucero Uribe of Santa Barbara — after a brief foot pursuit, and Morton said she was taken to the hospital for evaluation after suffering minor injuries.
No one else was reported hurt in the pursuit or the crash, including one passenger, 24-year-old Jose Francisco Gonzalez of Santa Barbara. Uribe was booked into County Jail on a slew of charges, including felony evading, stolen vehicle, two counts of hit and run, a felony warrant and three misdemeanor warrants.
After she was caught attempting to smuggle controlled substances into the jail, authorities added to the list possession of controlled substances and smuggling contraband into a custodial facility.
Morton added that Gonzalez “was also found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia and was connected as well to the stolen vehicle.”
He, too, was taken into custody at the second crash site, and was booked on charges of vehicle theft/stolen vehicle, possession of drug paraphernalia and a no-bail probation violation.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
