San Marcos Pass
Three inured in four-vehicle crash
Four vehicles - including a limousine, pictured at right, - crashed Friday on Highway 154 near Stagecoach Road, just north of the summit of the Santa Ynez mountains, the California Highway Patrol reported.
Three people were taken to the hospital, two with minor injuries and one with moderate injuries, the CHP said.
The accident occurred around 4 p.m. when a woman's car began to skid, witnesses at the scene said.
According to witnesses, as the car skidded, it turned 180 degrees into the next lane, where the limo collided with the rear of the car.
A truck crashed into the limo, and a GMC Yukon alongside the limo was also hit, authorities said.
Santa Maria
Woman booked on carjacking charge
A Santa Maria woman has been booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of carjacking, after she was found in a stolen car in Oxnard, police said.
Elisa Mercedes Garcia, 20, of Santa Maria, and Lynette Fiol, 30, of Fullerton, allegedly used a knife and pepper spray to take a 1995 Ford Taurus April 26, police said.
The women are accused of flagging down the car's driver, a 25-year-old man, in the area of Cook and Depot streets and then using a knife and pepper spray to rob the driver and take the car, police said.
Oxnard police Wednesday found the car and suspects, who were booked into Ventura County Jail. Fiol is being held in Ventura without bail on a parole violation and Garcia was brought back to Santa Barbara County on Thursday.
Garcia is being held on $100,000 bail.
Santa Maria
Wells Fargo Bank on Main Street robbed
Santa Maria police and the FBI are investigating a Friday afternoon robbery at the Wells Fargo Bank branch at Main and Miller streets.
The suspect was last seen walking north from the bank at 409 E. Main St. wearing a long-sleeved blue shirt and black pants.
He was described as being a white man in his mid-20s, approximately 6 feet tall, between 160 and 180 pounds, and wore a hat, sunglasses and an obviously false, black beard, according to police Sgt. Jerel Haley.
The man used a demand note to get an undisclosed amount of money from the teller, then calmly walked out, Haley said.
No weapons were used or threatened and no one was injured during the robbery.
Customer Ron Franklin said he noticed the man because he opened the door as the robbery suspect left the bank. Otherwise, many bank customers did not notice anything out of the ordinary until the doors were locked by bank staff.
Police are investigating whether Friday's incident is connected to a recent bank robbery in Santa Barbara, but Haley said it is not uncommon for bank robbers to wear facial hair as a disguise.
Central Coast
Union and counties group each accord
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 721 and the Tri-Counties Regional Center have reached a tentative contract agreement, the union announced Friday.
The state contracts with the regional center to provide support and services for children and adults with developmental disabilities living in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
Union officials claim their members have received only one cost-of-living increase since 2002, while center managers have received such increases annually. They also note that managers recently received a
3 percent increase.
Services at the center cover the life span of individuals, from early assessment and intervention for infants and young children, school-age children, transition-age young adults' recreational, employment and residential needs, to the residential, service and medical needs of adults and seniors.
Contract details are expected to be released if the union ratifies the contract next week.
Lompoc
Investigators look into collision
The cause of a traffic accident Thursday morning at North H Street and Central Avenue in Lompoc involving a city policeman remained under investigation Friday, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.
CHP Officer Felipe Hernandez said the Lompoc officer, driving a patrol car eastbound on West Central Avenue at
5:27 a.m., collided with a 2005 Dodge Caravan driven by Brendon J. Robertson, 30, of Lompoc. Robertson was southbound on North H when the accident occurred, Hernandez said.
Both drivers suffered minor injuries, he said. The Lompoc police officer is recovering and is expected to return to work early next week, said a department spokesman.
Hernandez said he could not disclose the identity of the police officer while the accident is under investigation.
Pismo Beach
Police believe recent incidents are related
The Pismo Beach police believe a man who allegedly robbed two male victims at the Best Western Inn last week is the same person who tried to sell a gun Wednesday in Avila Beach, police said.
A man matching the description of last week's robbery suspect walked into an Avila Beach real estate office Wednesday, attempting to sell the employees a gun. The man told the office staff he had lost his wallet, didn't have any money and was selling the gun to raise money for gas, police said.
The suspect is described as a white male, 45 to 50 years old,
5 feet 11 inches tall, and 250 pounds. He was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt, dark shorts, tennis shoes and blue Boston Red Sox baseball hat.
Police believe the man might be driving a blue 2007 or 2008 GMC Yukon with Arizona license plates.
Anyone with information about the man is urged to call Pismo police Sgt. Tom Portz at 773-7019.
- From staff reports
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