Woman airlifted to hospital after collision with oil tanker near New Cuyama
A woman was airlifted to a local hospital and an oil tanker had to be offloaded after a two-vehicle crash on State Route 166 near New Cuyama Thursday afternoon.
At around 12:44 p.m., Santa Barbara County Fire Department, California Highway Patrol and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office responded to Highway 166, six miles west of New Cuyama.
Arriving units found a two-vehicle collision involving a fully-loaded oil tanker and a Chevrolet Cruze.
According to Santa Barbara County Fire Captain Dave Zaniboni, the oil tanker nearly collided with the Chevrolet Cruze head-on.
Both vehicles sustained major damage.
The driver of the tanker was uninjured. The driver of the Cruze, a 24-year-old woman, suffered moderate-to-severe injuries and was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital via helicopter.
The oil tanker was carrying 8500 gallons of crude oil. Due to damage from the crash, the contents of the tanker had to be offloaded into a replacement vehicle.
Fire crews remained on scene to wait for the replacement vehicle.
CHP is investigating the crash.
According to the CHP log, one lane on State Route 166 was closed for nearly an hour while crews dealt with the scene.
Vehicle accident, Hwy.166 near Cuyama. One pt. Airlifted to Cottage Hosp. Call Newsline for more info. pic.twitter.com/A5ayKpHqUM
— Dave Zaniboni (@SBCFireInfo) March 30, 2017
