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Natalia Kyme Stallworth

Age : 28

Gender : Female

Race : Unknown

Date : 08/25/2021

Location : U.S. Highway 101 near Dos Pueblos Canyon Road

City : Goleta area

County : Santa Barbara

State : California

Agency : California Highway Patrol

Officer(s) :Daniel Backe; Bodgan Vysochin

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: CHP officers pursued Stallworth at speeds exceeding 100 mph; the original reason police initiated the pursuit has not been established.
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NARRATIVE:
On 08/25/2021, 28-year-old Natalia Kyme Stallworth of Santa Barbara was killed when the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta she was driving crashed head-on into a Ford Expedition during a California Highway Patrol pursuit on U.S. Highway 101 near Dos Pueblos Canyon Road in Santa Barbara County.
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CHP Officers Daniel Backe and Bodgan Vysochin pursued Stallworth northbound on Highway 101. A later wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Daniel Garcia's parents alleged that the CHP pursuit reached speeds exceeding 100 mph.
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Near Dos Pueblos Canyon Road, Stallworth crossed the dirt center median and entered the southbound lanes traveling the wrong direction. Her Volkswagen collided head-on with the Ford Expedition occupied by Daniel Garcia and Eryka Lopez. Both vehicles caught fire. The collision was reported at approximately 2:18 a.m.
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Stallworth, Garcia and Lopez were pronounced dead at the scene. The fire was so intense that contemporary reporting stated the Volkswagen's license plate was destroyed. Santa Barbara County firefighters extinguished the burning vehicles and extricated victims from the wreckage.
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The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Coroner's Bureau subsequently identified Stallworth as the Volkswagen driver. Later civil-court records identify her full name as Natalia Kyme Stallworth.
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DISPOSITION:
Daniel Garcia's parents subsequently filed a wrongful-death lawsuit naming the State of California, California Highway Patrol, Natalia Stallworth's estate and several other defendants. The complaint alleged negligence by CHP Officers Daniel Backe and Bodgan Vysochin in conducting the high-speed pursuit.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
CHP Officers Daniel Backe and Bodgan Vysochin were identified in subsequent civil litigation as the officers who pursued Stallworth.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.santabarbara.courts.ca.gov/tentative-ruling/23cv03682
https://www.independent.com/2021/08/25/hwy-101-closed-in-both-directions-at-naples/
https://www.independent.com/2021/08/27/victims-from-wednesdays-101-incidents-identified/
https://keyt.com/news/traffic/2021/08/26/sheriffs-office-identifies-4-killed-in-early-morning-crashes-on-hwy-101/
https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/four-people-killed-in-hwy-101-crashes-wednesday-identified