The 44 year old adult male who was driving this 1999 Mercedes Benz E320 failed to yield for a Santa Barbara Police Unit, who was attempting to stop the vehicle for traffic violations.
The driver ran through 2 red lights and a stop sign at an extremely high rate of speed just before impact with a cement wall that serves as a drainage culvert and barrier between Chapala Street and US HIGHWAY 101.
The Mercedes collided at a speed estimated approximately 85 to 90 mph.
The impact caused 60 feet of breakaway posts and fence to fall. The car pitched forward and upward striking the fence. The vehicle then fell to the ground coming to its point of rest in a vertical position with the front of the car on the ground and the rear bumper in the air.
The driver was killed instantly from the force of the impact.
The driver was clearly visible with his head, one shoulder, and one arm extending out of the sunroof with a majority of his body still trapped in the vehicle.
A Mercedes Benz Technical Specialist inspected the vehicle due to the extreme speed of impact and crush damage to the vehicle.
It was determined that the vehicle acted as expected in this type of collision and that the safety mechanisms in the car acted as designed, however, due to the speed of impact the driver was unable to survive as his speed overcame the safety designs of the vehicle.
