SB police arrest suspected drunken drivers

DAILY SOUND STAFF REPORT

Authorities arrested 16 drivers on suspicion of driving under the influence on Santa Barbara streets between December 8 and Monday, police said. Violations ranged from a 21-year-old man driving downtown without his lights on at 1:50 a.m. to a 23-year-old man driving the wrong way on Anacapa Street at midnight, as well as the following incidents.

On Dec. 15, officers stopped a 44-year-old woman for speeding on Cabrillo Boulevard and throwing napkins out of the window of her Ford Escape during the early morning hours. Authorities added a charge of battery after the woman kicked the nurse taking a blood sample for an alcohol test.
At 10:25 p.m. on Dec. 15, police responded to a hit-and-run accident at 215 W. Alamar Ave., determining the suspect had crashed into a parked car and fled the scene. As they continued the investigation, a woman stumbled up and initially stated her sister was involved in the accident.
During further questioning, she changed her story, saying that a friend had been driving. After locating the vehicle a block away, police took her into custody, and despite her attempts to hide her identity by giving a false name, arrested the 26-year-old woman for DUI, hit-and-run and driving on a suspended license.
On Dec. 17 at 6 a.m., authorities received a call from police from a man who said he had been in a traffic accident at 1700 Robbins St., left his vehicle and walked home. After discovering his car had hit a parked truck at the location he gave, police tracked down the 26-year-old driver at his Canon Perdido Street home and arrested him on suspicion of DUI.
Later that day, at 5:55 p.m., an ambulance traveling along 200 W. Alamar Ave. was approached head-on by a car. Although the ambulance driver attempted to pull over as far as possible, the car sideswiped the ambulance and continued driving. After making a U-turn and turning on the ambulance’s emergency lights, the paramedic crew contacted police, who eventually stopped the vehicle and arrested its 58-year-old driver.