DUI crash kills three in Santa Barbara

April 23, 2014

CHP@A woman allegedly driving under the influence slammed into a car in Santa Barbara early Monday morning, killing three people and leaving a fourth in critical condition. [KEYT]

At 12:46 a.m. Monday, 52-year-old Kimberly Kreis crashed her white Ford Mustang into a red Mazda sedan on Highway 101 in Santa Barbara. The collision caused the Mazda to roll over and end up on its roof.

The crash killed three passengers in the Mazda, two of whom were 17-year-old high school students in Torrance. The third passenger killed was a 20-year-old Los Angeles man.

The driver of the Mazda, also a 20-year-old Los Angeles man is in critical condition in a Santa Barbara hospital.

Officers arrested Kreis, a Santa Barbara resident, for driving under the influence and booked her in Santa Barbara County Jail.

The section of Highway 101 in which the crash occurred remained closed for more than 12 hours Monday.


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Is or has Kreis ever been a member of Lois Capps’ staff?


I heard a rumor today that this is not the first DUI for Kreis. Since I could not confirm it, I will continue to regard it as a rumor only. Does anyone know of an authoritative source for that information?


So you heard a rumor, so you decided to use your anonymous account to spread this rumor under the guise of asking someone to verify it.


How classy.


I’m with you kettle.


I would say that they will lock up Kimberly for many years. It doesn’t matter if she could have avoided the accident or not. If she had not been drinking, she would be off the hook and probably would have all her damages paid off by the insurance company. Since she was intoxicated and I might mention that she didn’t have to be a .08%, she could have only been a .07% but no doubt, she will still be charged.


Don’t drink and drive, if there is an accident, you will be charged regardless of the circumstances. That’s just the way it is these days. Of course, if you have connections and are known as an upstanding hand shaker or your parents meet that criteria, then you’ll probably walk away without consequences.


Let’s wait to see what happens. In the mean time, my condolences go out to these families of the deceased and those who loved them. This is such a tragedy.


You guys have this story all wrong. Please look into this and correct.


Apparently the red Mazda crashed all on it own. It veered off the road to the right and over-corrected. It flipped and ended up on its roof in the #2 lane. Then the mustang immediately slammed into it. It turned out the driver of the mustang was intoxicated.


Whether the driver being intoxicated caused her to crash into the already upside down mazda is unknown at this time, but it probably doesn’t matter.


Also, I’m not sure how they can determine if the occupants of the mazda were killed in their crash or from being slammed into by the mazda… but I am sure her defense attorney will argue that point.


Anyway, the way you are reporting the story it wrong and it will likely be more complicated than how you portrayed it.


You are correct that time will tell but if she was intoxicated and ran into them after the fact, she has now muddied the waters by being intoxicated. I have seen a lot of these types of accidents where, if the person who ran into someone after the fact was not intoxicated, then no harm no foul but when they are, now law enforcement start to ask questions and rightfully so.


That right there is what I contend is the case in many,if not most, media accounts of various incidents.