The City College student taken to the Intensive Care Unit at Cottage Hospital when his motorcycle collided with a car at the East Campus entrance on Oct. 31 has been moved from intensive care, but remains in the hospital to treat injuries sustained in the accident.
The motorcyclist, 21-year-old Sean Andrew Stanley, was traveling eastbound on Cliff Drive at approximately 40 mph when he hit UCSB graduate Leonisia Caporal’s 1993 Toyota Corolla, according to police. Caporal was attempting to make a left-hand turn out of City College’s East Campus Entrance onto Cliff Drive when Stanley’s 2003 Yamaha motorcycle collided with the rear left side of the Corolla.
“There’s good, bad and really bad,” said Lt. Paul McCaffrey of the Santa Barbara Police Department. “I would say this accident was pretty bad.”
Police said Stanley’s body was found some 90 feet away from his motorcycle. He suffered fractures to his pelvis, femur and face, though he was wearing a full-face helmet. The crash also knocked out some teeth.
“[Stanley’s] bike was a high-performance bike and it has a lot of get-up and go,” McCaffrey said. “I heard that the motorcycle traveled quite a ways from Stanley’s body.”
Caporal was not injured, but was visibly shaken after the accident. She broke into tears and said she was scared about the condition of the motorcyclist.
“In my career there’s been a lot of serious and fatal accidents that have occurred on Cliff Drive,” McCaffrey said. “When accidents happen on Cliff, they are usually more serious and dangerous because it’s a long street and there’s a higher speed limit.”
McCaffrey said that he did not know Stanley’s prognosis or chances of recovering fully and resuming normal movement.
Though Caporal’s vehicle suffered damages, she was able to drive away from the scene of the accident safely.
Stanley’s motorcycle had to be removed from the intersection by a police officer and a tow truck operator. The bike was leaking gasoline and its muffler was lying on the sidewalk next to the campus exit.
Police have yet to determine fault and said they were unsure if visual obstructions played a role in the accident.