A former Santa Barbara City College student died in a motorcycle accident outside of the community college on Monday afternoon. He was 24 years old.

The student, Lemar Young, was pronounced dead at the scene following a collision between Young’s motorcycle and a separate vehicle.

The accident may have been caused by Young traveling at a high rate of speed, said Anthony Wagner, Santa Barbara City Police Department spokesperson.

Young was initially stopped at a red light on Loma Alta Road near a Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) entrance. He was then traveling eastbound on Cliff Drive when a second vehicle “pulled out of a side driveway of the school,” Wagner said in an interview with the Nexus.

“[Young] attempted to go from the number two lane to the number one lane at the same time that the driver tried to gun it and go across the way to avoid the motorcycle,” he said.

“The motorcycle rider fishtailed the bike … which caused him to catapult into the air, landing some distance from where he catapulted.”

Young was not an SBCC student at the time but had previously taken classes in 2017, according to SBCC spokesperson Luz Reyes-Martin.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic accident and our hearts go out to the family, friends and anyone affected by this event,” Reyes-Martin said in an email.

Young’s family set up a GoFundMe for funeral costs.

Noozhawk previously reported Young was a Goleta resident. The Nexus could not confirm this information.

Simren Verma contributed reporting.

Updated [8:10 p.m.]: This article was updated to include information about Young’s GoFundMe. 

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Evelyn Spence
Evelyn Spence harbors a great love for em dashes and runs on nothing but iced coffee, Jolly Ranchers and breaking news. She serves as the managing editor and can be reached at evelyn@dailynexus.com, managing@dailynexus.com or at @evelynrosesc on Twitter.