Driver critically injured after ejected from vehicle during rollover, fire accident along Gaviota Coast
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – A driver was critically injured after being ejected from their car during a vehicle rollover accident that sparked flames on southbound Highway 101 along the Gaviota Coast on Wednesday afternoon.
Crews were dispatched to the incident near the Dos Pueblos Canyon Road off-ramp at 2:50 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP reported that a car had driven off the roadway and into a ditch.
The driver was ejected from the vehicle, and the car was fully engulfed in flames, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
Vehicle Accident, Hwy 101 SB at DP Canyon. Goleta.Single vehicle rollover with ejection. Car engulfed in flames. Citizens on scene and SBSO assisted driver until SBC arrived. Fire knocked down w/o extension into brush. Pt (red tag) transported to SBCH via AMR.C/T1447. Under inv. pic.twitter.com/U4umDpM5nY
— Daniel Bertucelli (@SBCFireInfo) March 23, 2022
The fire was knocked down without the flames extending into nearby brush, said Capt. Daniel Bertucelli.
Citizens and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office helped the driver until county fire arrived, and the driver was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital to be treated, Bertucelli said.
The #1 lane of the highway reopened at 3:10 p.m., the CHP said, but it was not clear if the #2 lane was open at that time.
The cause of the accident was under investigation.
This is the second vehicle fire that shut down lanes on southbound 101 along Santa Barbara County's South Coast on Wednesday afternoon.
