After colliding with two UCSB students and another passenger near Isla Vista, a 20-year-old Goleta native was charged with felony DUI on Tuesday night, after police alleged that the driver had driven while under the influence of drugs.

At approximately 11:50 p.m., the 1998 Chevrolet van driven by 20-year-old Dane Brian Johnston of Goleta crashed into a 2004 Toyota Corolla driven by third-year computer science and statistics major Albert Hwang. While Johnston and one of Hwang’s passengers were taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Hwang did not sustain any injuries. After medical staff released Johnston from the hospital for minor injuries, the Goleta native was taken to county jail.

Johnston was driving northbound on Los Carneros Road, just north of El Colegio Road, and proceeded to cross the double yellow lines and strike the Toyota Corolla, traveling southbound, head-on. Johnston’s van was weaving from side to side on the road just prior to the collision, according to witnesses at the scene.

Police later determined Johnston to be under the influence of drugs. He was arrested under charges of felony DUI after he received treatment at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for a laceration to his nose and chest pain.

One of Hwang’s passengers, Candy Yang, a 21-year-old junior philosophy major, was riding in the rear passenger’s side seat and sustained numerous cranial injuries as a result of the accident. Among her injuries were a fractured skull, facial fractures and a laceration above her left ear. Hwang’s second passenger, junior computer engineering major Crystal Hsiao-Feng Wei, was uninjured.

While her injuries were not considered life-threatening, Yang was admitted to the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for further treatment and evaluation.

The complete circumstances of the collision are still under investigation.

Print