Four people injured in two separate wrong-way driver accidents Tuesday night
SANTA YNEZ VALLEY, Calif. – Four people were injured in two separate car accidents caused by a wrong-way driver just before 8 p.m. on Tuesday night, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
Three people were critically injured, with one airlifted to a nearby hospital via helicopter, according to fire Capt. Daniel Bertucelli, adding that the others were transported by ground ambulance.
A fourth person had minor injuries, he added.
Wrong way driver MVA. SBC on scene w/ 2 separate accidents. Hwy 101@ Alisos Cyn and Hwy 101 @ 154. (SYV) Total of 4 pt’s 3 red tags and 1 green tag. Heavy extrication required. 1 transported by CalStar, others by ground. Under inv. By CHP. Traffic restrictions in area. C/T 1944. pic.twitter.com/bMR3hvkRqc
— Daniel Bertucelli (@SBCFireInfo) March 9, 2022
The wrong-way driver was driving south in the northbound lanes on Highway 101 south of Los Alamos, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP Officer Keith Rogers said that the wrong-way driver caused multiple near-miss crashes before causing a multi-vehicle accident at Alisos Canyon and Highway 101.
Two cars attempted to avoid crashing into the wrong-way driver and ended up colliding, Rogers said.
The impact of the collision caused the gas tank of one of the cars to rupture, spilling around 50 gallons of diesel fuel onto the dirt shoulder, he added.
Following the first accident, the wrong-way driver continued traveling south in the northbound lane, according to Rogers.
This caused him to collide head-on with a Toyota traveling north on Highway 101 near the Highway 154 intersection.
The wrong-way driver became disabled and blocked the first northbound lane, Rogers said.
This crash also caused diesel fuel to spill out onto the road; approximately 30 gallons leaked onto the median.
Both occupants of the wrong-way vehicle were able to get out of the car on their own, and they were transported to Marian Regional Medical Center with moderate injuries, Rogers said.
The driver of the Toyota had to be extracted by fire personnel and airlifted to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital with major injuries, he added.
Alcohol and/or drug intoxication was a factor in the accidents, and the driver of the wrong-way vehicle was placed into custody for suspicion of driving under the influence, according to Rogers.
CalTrans came to clean up the diesel spills around 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
The crashes are under investigation by the CHP.
