News Channel’s Year in Headlines
Small Plane Crashes Near Highway 101 in Goleta, Two Seriously Injured
A small plane crash along Highway 101 north of the Storke Road offramp left a shocking scene for those traveling through the Goleta area back in January. Two professional pilots employed by filmmaker Robert Zemeckis were seriously injured in the fiery scene.
Flight data shows the Cirrus SR22 departed Santa Barbara Airport at 1:51 p.m. The crash occurred a short time later around 2:15pm.
Videos captured by witnesses, including Steve Epstein, shows the aircraft engulfed in flames, burning while bystanders and California Highway Patrol officer Ricardo Ayala rushed over a fence to assist the pilots. Click here to read more.
UCSB Student Dies Following a Fall from Campus Residence Hall, Family Confirms
The death of UC Santa Barbara freshman Elizabeth Hamel broke hearts amongst students and community members when news broke the 18-year-old had died of injuries sustained after a fall from an on-campus residence hall in February.
On the night of February 14th, Hamel was found unconscious outside San Rafael Hall following what seemed to be a night out with friends. Elizabeth was pronounced dead on February 20th. With little transparency from the university, questions arose around the young girl's death – How did Elizabeth gain access to a building she didn't live in? And who is the young man she was last seen with?
Just recently, UC Police officially ruled Hamel's death as an “accidental fall.” However, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office confirmed to Your News Channel that "the case is under review."
Her father Alain describes her as "talented, beautiful, glamorous, intelligent, and funny — all of those things." She was incredibly kind, and "cared so deeply about her friends, always thinking about how to make them happy, how to help them, and how to show up for them." Click here to read more.
Family Members confirm Body found near McGrath State Beach in Oxnard to be Missing Teen
The body of San Fernando Valley teen, Oscar Omar Hernandez, was discovered in Oxnard in April just a few days after his family had reported him missing. 13-year-old Hernandez never returned home after visiting his soccer coach Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino at his Lancaster home.
That coach was charged with murder with special circumstances in the death of missing teenager, along with additional, unrelated felony charges for the sexual assaults of two separate minors he also coached in years prior. The young boy's family have since filed two lawsuits against the county and city of Los Angeles for negligence.
The Ventura County Medical Examiner revealed 13-year-old Oscar Omar Hernandez died of ethanol poisoning, or alcohol poisoning.
A public mass was held for the young boy on April 12th inside Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Hollywood. Click here to read more.
Three teens are Dead and Two Others Suffer Major Injuries After Four-Vehicle Collision on Highway 1
The community tragically lost three Dos Pueblos High School students in a four-vehicle collision on Highway 1 north of Gaviota back in May – 18-year-old Jake Curtis of Goleta, 17-year-old Michael Ochsner and 15-year-old Alexander Wood both of Santa Barbara.
On May 18, at 6:00 p.m., multiple calls were received about a multi-vehicle collision on Highway 1 near Rancho San Julian. A preliminary investigation has determined that a southbound 2007 Toyota Yaris entered the northbound lane and struck a 2024 Tesla Model 3 head-on. The head-on collision caused the Tesla to crash into a southbound 2012 Audi Q5 and a southbound 2002 Honda Accord.
Jake Curtis was a varsity swimmer, and swam all four years at Dos Pueblos. Michael Ochsner was a junior varsity cross country and track athlete – he was described as a good teammate and well liked by his teammates. Alexander Wood was a junior varsity water polo player and swimmer, he had recently been voted "most inspirational" by his teammates this year.
"This was a tragedy, and local families have lost loved ones," said CHP Buellton Area Commander Lieutenant Jason Bronson. "We grieve with the families and work every day to prevent this loss of life in our communities." Click here to read more.
Popular Central Coast Beach Identified as Having One of the Highest Levels of Bacteria in the Country
In pretty gross news... in May a Clean Water Report by the Surfrider Foundation San Luis Obispo Creek as it enters the Pacific Ocean in Avila Beach was determined to have a nationally high level of bacteria. According to testing performed by volunteers, water in the creek was found to have bacteria exceeding California safety standards 38% of the time.
That amount has placed the San Luis Obispo Creek mouth on Surfrider’s "2024 Beach Bacteria Hot Spots."
Surfrider is now meeting quarterly with several San Luis Obispo County departments, including Public Health, Environmental Health, Public Works, as well as the Regional Water Quality Control Board in a new team effort to find a permanent solution. Click here to read more.
Identified Barricaded Suspect Arrested After Violent Montecito Home Invasion
Violent attack inside the Montecito estate of Beanie Babies creator, Ty Warner, led to the arrest of 43-year-old Russell Maxwell Phay in May. The Nevada resident was booked at the Santa Barbara County Main Jail for attacking a woman inside the home at the time and barricading himself inside a bathroom.
News Channel's Tracy Lehr was LIVE at the scene, describing dozens of law enforcement vehicles —many unmarked — surrounding the estate.
Phay had reported told investigators he had been direct communication with pop singer Katy Perry through a "head link," the two were married, and she was the one who directed him to go to the Montecito estate.
Phay was ruled competent to stand trial, and is scheduled to return to court on Feb. 2nd, 2026 for an arraignment hearing. Click here to read more.
Authorities Clarify Orcutt Park “Body Dumping Video” Filmed on Meta Glasses
What seemed to be suspicious activity caught on camera, turned out to be a misunderstanding in Orcutt during the summer time.
In June, Michael Zoppo took his young son to Waller Park in Orcutt to play. While watching his son climb up a tree, the meta glasses he had on at the time caught a woman lying on the asphalt in the park's parking lot. The viral video ignited rumors and assumptions that the Santa Maria father had caught a body dumping on camera.
However, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office clarified that the woman in the video was heavily intoxicated, and what the video doesn't show is that she got out of the car on her own.
First responders were able to arrest the 67-year-old driver before he got away, and a medical crew was able to treat the intoxicated woman. Click here to read more.
Federal Raids at Glass House Farms Spark Chaos in Carpinteria and Ventura County
Increased deportations and immigration enforcement initiated by the Trump administation were felt right here at home on the Central Coast in a chaotic scene at two cannabis farms.
Two raids shook the Central Coast as heavily armed federal agents stormed cannabis farms in Carpinteria and Camarillo, deploying tear gas, flashbangs and rubber bullets on crowds that included stunned farmworkers, residents and local officials.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said 10 juveniles were found inside the facility, all of whom he claims are undocumented, with eight identified as unaccompanied minors. Farm workers were critically injured in the raids according to the United Farm Workers, and it has been confirmed that one farm worker has died as a result.
In Carpinteria, tensions erupted when a crowd of outraged residents and workers confronted federal agents, some clad in military-style gear. Among those at the scene was Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, a former Marine who presented his congressional ID and demanded to speak with officials. He was physically pushed back and denied access.
Carpinteria City Councilmember Mónica Solórzano was also injured in the clash. Click here to read more.
Madre Fire burned over 80,000 acres in San Luis Obispo County; Gifford Fire becomes the Largest Wildfire of 2025 in California
In July, thousands were evacuated as the Madre Fire spread to 80,779 acres in rural San Luis Obispo County, followed by the Gifford Fire, which became the largest wildfire this year in California at over 130,000 acres.
The Madre wildfire spanned three separate jurisdictions: the Los Padres National Forest, San Luis Obispo County-managed property, and land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management at its zenith. The wildfire spaned three separate jurisdictions: the Los Padres National Forest, San Luis Obispo County-managed property, and land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management at its zenith.
Just a short time later, the Gifford Fire set aflame 131,605 acres, larger than July's Madre Fire. Heavy smoke spread across the Central Coast and air quality alerts and warnings were issued for parts of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
Over 4,900 fire personnel were assigned to the fire, which destroyed at least five structures and resulted in the evacuation of over 780 homes. Click here to read more.
Three Arrested In Fatal State Street Stabbing
Santa Barbara's annual Fiesta celebrations quickly turned violent after one person died following a stabbing on State Street — just hours before the historic Fiesta parade. Three people were arrested in connection with the stabbing, 29-year-old Luis Gerardo Terrazas, 28-year-old Juan Fernando Rios, 30-year-old Sergio Rivas.
Charges were filed against all three men for the death of Anthony Bisquera-Hartley on Aug. 5, 2025. However, new video shown in September shows Bisquera-Hartley was armed and attacked Rivas and Rios. The district attorney says the two acted in self-defense and all murder charges were dropped.
Rios was later taken into custody on a new set of alleged gun and drug offenses. Rios is currently in custody at Santa Barbara County Jail on $50,000 bail. Click here to read more.
Video of Santa Barbara Healthcare Workers Sparks Disgust and Concern with Locals
A shocking video allegedly filmed at a Sansum Clinic location in Santa Barbara sparked disgust and concern with locals, showing staff posing in front of bodily-fluid stained exam table paper – with text referring to them as "sweet gifts."
The video, originally posted to Tik Tok, went viral over Labor Day weekend and despite the removal of the video, it spread across several other platforms including Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit. A reddit post claims the video was taken at Sutter Health Pesetas Urgent Care in Santa Barbara, a location now run by Sansum clinic.
Your News Channel reached out to the clinic for more information, and a Sutter Health spokesperson says the video was posted by a former employee who is no longer employed by the clinic and all employees involved have been terminated. Click here to read more.
Missing Nine-Year-Old Melodee Buzzard Found Dead; Mother Ashlee Arrested For Her Murder
In October, authorities were alerted by Lompoc Unified School District of nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard who hadn't been seen for some time. The search for the missing girl grew nationwide, as investigators followed leads, tips, and surveillance footage of last known movements of Melodee with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, traveling between the states of California, Nevada, Utah and Nebraska earlier in the month.
Ashlee was reportedly "uncooperative with investigators" and detectives did not receive any verified information about the nine-year-old's whereabouts outside of the local school district when the public search began.
During the multi-day trip, both were seen wearing wigs and at some point, the license plate on the rental car was swapped with out-of-state plates. Ashlee returned to their Vandenberg Village home without her daughter.
Just days before Christmas, Law enforcement confirmed the body of the local nine-year-old was located in Utah and her mother has been taken into custody on a charge of first degree murder. Ashlee Buzzard plead not guilty, and a gag order against Santa Barbara County sheriffs was signed by Judge John F McGregor and set Ashley's trial date for January 7th. Click here to read more.
