Drunk driver arrested for hit-and-run death

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Authorities said a drunk driver hit and killed a big-rig driver on the shoulder of Highway 101 near Los Carneros Road before fleeing the scene early this morning.
Miguel Angel Cabrera, 45, of Lompoc, was standing near his 1986 Peterbuilt truck at about 12:30 a.m. when a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado driven by 38-year-old Andrew Palmer Swanson, of Goleta, hit him, causing major internal injuries, CHP Spokesman Don Clotworthy said.
“The Chevrolet also struck the left side of the Peterbuilt truck, knocking off its left door,” Clotworthy said.
Swanson left the scene, but investigators tracked him down at his home in Goleta at about 3:15 a.m., where they determined he had been driving under the influence of alcohol and arrested him, authorities said.
Cabrera was taken to Cottage Hospital and pronounced dead in the Intensive Care Unit at around 3:30 a.m., Clotworthy said.
Authorities booked Swanson on charges of felony DUI and felony hit-and-run, Clotworthy said, adding, “As a result of the death of Mr. Cabrera, Mr. Swanson faces the additional charge of gross vehicular manslaughter.”
Swanson’s passenger and roommate, 47-year-old Craig Lee Dunn, was arrested for providing false information to authorities, but the charges against him have been dropped, Clotworthy said.
Investigators said witnesses reported seeing the big-rig’s hood propped open, suggesting it had broken down.