Santa Barbara motorcyclist evades police for 70 miles

August 24, 2015

A motorcyclist reportedly reached speeds of up to 130 mph as he led law enforcement on a 70-mile chase across much of Santa Barbara County on Sunday.

At around 1:45 p.m., a Guadalupe police offer observed Kaichi Sato, a 28-year-old Santa Barbara resident, driving his motorcycle recklessly on Highway 1 west of Orcutt. The officer then attempted a traffic stop.

Sato refused to pull over, prompting sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol officers to pursue him through the streets of Orcutt. Sato then entered southbound Highway 101 at Clark Road.

As he drove on the freeway, Sato sometimes split lanes and passed vehicles on the right shoulder. A county helicopter tracked him as he sped south on Highway 101.

Sato exited the highway at Turnpike Road, east of Goleta, and headed east on Hollister Avenue and Modoc Road through Santa Barbara’s west side.

The motorcyclist then drove up Miramonte Drive, over TV Hill and to the Mesa before reversing course and heading northbound on Carrillo Street in downtown Santa Barbara.

After speeding around city streets, Sato abandoned his motorcycle on Highway 101 near the northbound Laguna Street exit. He then started to flee by foot.

But, CHP officers stopped him at gunpoint moments later. The officers arrested him in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 500 block of East Montecito Street.

Sato was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on a number of traffic-related charges.