As the Santa Maria Airport was being evacuated because of a possible bomb scare, more law enforcement officials responded to a potential hazardous material incident on Highway 135 near Lakeview Junior High School.
On Dec. 23, members of the California Highway Patrol closed down Orcutt Road and one lane of Highway 135 to inspect a Mazda Miata that had been parked along the highway for about three days.
In an interview with the Sun, Cmdr. Dominick Palera of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department said the agency received a notice from Vandenberg Air Force Base that one of its airmen—who was deemed suicidal—had gone missing. It was also determined that the airman owned the abandoned Miata.
“He had threatened in a note to use chemicals [to commit suicide], so we were concerned there might be something in his vehicle,” Palera said. “Our fear was if the car were to get towed or someone unsuspecting were to open it, someone would get hurt.”
The airman was later taken into custody in Los Angeles for possession of hydrogen sulfate. He has since been relocated to the Central Coast and is under suicide watch at a local hospital.
Hazmat experts from the Sheriff’s Department and Santa Barbara County Fire Department were called in to see if any other chemicals were inside the Miata. But after inspecting the car’s trunk, officials determined it was chemical-free.
Two hours later, the highway and roads were reopened and the car was set to be towed.
This article appears in Dec 31, 2009 – Jan 7, 2010.