Highway 101 reopens after deadly crash near Gaviota

GAVIOTA, Calif. -The cleanup of a deadly semi-truck crash on the side of Highway 101 took hours Thursday morning.

Remnants of a semi-truck, tree bark and dust scattered the northbound side after the vehicle ran into a large eucalyptus tree.

This caused a major backup during the morning commute.

“It's not fun, especially when you've got somewhere to be, (when) you have kids," says driver Angela Camacho.

The California Highway Patrol says that the driver was not wearing a seatbelt, and was ejected after hitting the tree. He died at the scene.

California Highway Patrol Officers say the process to clear the scene was slow and complicated.

"They have to take a part of the front of the trailer off to be able to drive it out of here. It was structurally unsound to be able to take it out of here in one piece, so it’s taking extra time," says CHP Officer David Nees.

He explained that before the workers could move the trailer, crews first had to remove everything inside saying, "It was full of empty 55-gallon drums."

The crash blocked the northbound side of Highway 101 for more than 5 hours, which frustrated many drivers like Toto Aaron, an Uber driver on his way to pick up a customer.

He expressed, " I don't know why there's traffic over. It's so wide and clear.”

Crews spent most of the day cutting the eucalyptus tree, causing one lane to remain closed most of the day.

That finally reopened late in the afternoon.

The collision is still under investigation.