More than a month has passed since the death of 15-year-old Carina Velazquez, and the feeling of anguish still resonates within the Santa Ynez Valley.
On the evening of March 26, Velazquez, a student from Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, was attempting to cross Highway 246 in front of the school after an FFA meeting when she was struck by a minivan. Velazquez died hours later at a nearby hospital.
Now, members of the community are asking whether more can be done to improve driver and pedestrian safety along the highway in front of the high school. Recently, state and local officials formed a focus group to address the concern.
The group is comprised of members from Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol, and the school district; representatives from Santa Barbara County Supervisor Doreen Farr’s office, state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson’s office, and Assemblymember Das Williams’ office; and Solvang Mayor Jim Richardson, who are tentatively scheduled to meet in a few weeks to discuss options.
Scott Cory, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District Superintendent, called a public meeting on the evening of April 29 to talk about the formation of the new group, but not before soliciting dozens of ideas from the audience.
The audience included parents, residents, teachers, and students. Ranging from feasible to impractical, members of the audience gave a multitude of ideas, including adding rumble strips on the highway, more sidewalks, increased CHP presence, and the addition of a foot bridge over the highway. Cory listened to ideas for nearly an hour. It may take more than one solution to make safety improvements at the intersection, Cory said.
“There are no bad ideas at this point,” Cory said at the meeting. “The solution really is a multi-pronged approach.”
Several members of the audience complained of the dangerous traffic flowing in from the intersection of Refugio and Highway 246, saying that drivers tend to round the right-hand turn from Refugio Road onto the highway without stopping. It’s the corner closest to the high school.
Zane St. Andre Jackson, a freshman at the high school, was among several in the audience who gave suggestions. He noted that the speed limit on Refugio Road approaching the intersection drops drastically from 55 to 25 mph without any warning.
“We think it would be a good idea if people had more warning that there was a school zone,” Jackson said, suggesting that speeds should be reduced more gradually. A murmur of agreement was heard from several other members of the audience. “It just feels so odd slowing down from 55 to suddenly 25.”
Paul McClintic, a Caltrans District 5 traffic engineer in San Luis Obispo, said a collaborative effort is needed between the county roads department and Caltrans to make changes at the intersection. The state agency is responsible for maintaining Highway 246 and the county is responsible for the roads leading up to it, McClintic said at the meeting.
He added that all of the suggestions made by audience members were productive, but some would be more feasible than others.
“Some of the other ideas will take a funding source and take longer to implement,” McClintic said, referring to the idea of building a bridge over the highway, which he said could cost at least $15 million. “There is a finite number of transportation dollars available.”
Some quick fixes will be implemented in the meantime, such as adding brighter school warning signs to the highway.
While the accident involving Velazquez happened after school hours and was fatal, it’s not the sole incident to occur along the highway in front of the school, according to Lt. Kurt Kruse, commander for the California Highway Patrol station in Buellton.
Kruse cited at least 15 other collisions that occurred in recent years. They are classified as rear-end collisions, most of them resulting in no injuries, and at least one involved a drunk driver, Kruse said. He added that Santa Ynez doesn’t come close to having large-city traffic problems, even with the tourism from wineries and the casino. And notably, it’s the valley’s local residents who receive the brunt of traffic citations from the CHP.
“You’d think that with all of the tourism around that the numbers would be more skewed, but in fact, they’re not,” Kruse said. “We were quite surprised about that.”
Even if more safety measures were added, both Kruse and McClintic said people must remain attentive.
“We need the parents, the students, and the drivers of the area to be more vigilant in obeying the devices that are out there,” McClintic said. “We have a signalized intersection with a marked crosswalk.”
Kruse couldn’t tell the Sun if Velazquez was using the crosswalk at the intersection, or exactly where along the highway she was hit. Kruse also couldn’t say if the driver—an 83-year-old Lompoc woman—would eventually be charged with a crime. In California, both driver and pedestrian are expected to follow right-of-way laws.
But right-of-way doesn’t guarantee safety for students using the crosswalk. Bob Fermin, who was in the audience, said students should abide by a code of ethics and lookout for each other.
“There’s an element of responsibility towards each other,” Fermin said.
Fermin has intimate knowledge of what it means to lose a family member in a traffic accident. In May 1995, his son Eric died in a car crash at the intersection of highways 101 and 154 while driving home from classes Cuesta College.
Fermin lobbied the state for years to build off-ramps and a bridge over 101. Fermin said there’s now a plaque on that highway bridge dedicated to his son. The bridge has saved lives, Fermin said.
“The next time you pass over the bridge, say, ‘Thank you Eric,’” Fermin said.
Contact Staff Writer David Minsky at dminsky@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 7-14, 2015.