Driver arrested after crashing SUV into creek

ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Santa Barbara police suspect alcohol played a role in a car crash that left one person seriously injured, the driver under arrest, and a Lexus SUV upside down in a creek early this morning.
Mark C. Wainwright, 28, of Cold Springs, Calif., allegedly sped eastbound along Cabrillo Boulevard in the Lexus just after 1 a.m., hitting several street lights and prompting numerous calls to police before flipping the SUV into the creek at Ninos Drive, near the Santa Barbara Zoo, authorities said.

“If you get numerous calls, you know it’s something nasty, and when we got down there it was pretty nasty,” City Fire Battalion Chief Chris Blair said.
A civilian on the scene jumped in and attempted to free the victims, Blair said, and two firefighters joined the rescue effort upon arrival. Authorities said the silver SUV was nearly submerged in the water, about 5 feet deep.
After firefighters quickly extricated the passenger, a man in his mid-20s, medics took him to Cottage Hospital, where he remains in the Intensive Care Unit, police said.
Police have yet to release the passenger’s name. Blair said he appeared to be in serious to critical condition on the scene and required ventilation.
“He was conscious, but not alert and oriented,” Blair said.
Wainwright did not suffer any serious injuries and was able to give statements to the police confirming there was only one passenger, Blair said, thereby canceling a call to the Harbor Patrol for a diver to search the wreckage.
Officers arrested Wainwright for felony DUI, Sgt. Lorenzo Duarte said.
City workers and Cal Trans worked through the morning to replace the damaged streetlights, shutting down Cabrillo Boulevard until just before noon. A tow truck pulled the SUV from the creek at about 10:30 a.m.
“When it’s a serious accident, they call in a crime scene investigation team from the police department,” Blair said, explaining why there was no rush to remove the vehicle. “Then if it turns fatal, they have all the evidence.”
Fire officials also called in city workers to examine potential environmental impacts to the creek. Cameron Benson, city creeks manager, said a small amount of sheen could be seen on the surface of the water.
“The estuary mouth was not breached,” Benson said. “It was closed, so it wasn’t going into the ocean.”
As authorities worked to flip the Lexus and pull it out of the creek bed, Benson said an oil spill response team placed an absorbent boom downstream and mopped up a small amount of what appeared to be hydraulic fluid.