Motorcyclist killed in head-on multi-vehicle crash on Highway 1 near Vandenberg Space Force Base
VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. - A motorcyclist was killed in an accident that involved four other vehicles accident along Highway 1 near Vandenberg Space Force Base on Thursday morning, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department
The accident was reported around 7:49 a.m. and involved four cars and one motorcycle, according to Capt. Scott Safechuck. Portions of northbound and southbound Highway 1 were closed for about four hours because of the accident, according to CalTrans.
The driver of a GMC Yukon was traveling on northbound Highway 1 when the vehicle veered left into the left northbound lane and center dirt median, according to the CHP. The GMC traveled into the opposite lanes directly into the path of a motorcyclist from Santa Maria.
The motorcyclist was unable to avoid the GMC and the front of the GMC crashed head-on into the motorcyclist, the CHP said.
The crash propelled the motorcycle west, where it traveled into the number two southbound lane and collided with the front of a different car, a Lincoln Navigator. Simultaneously, the motorcyclist was ejected from the bike and collided with the GMC again, according to the CHP.
During the motorcyclist's second collision with the GMC, the motorcyclist was deflected onto the west descending embankment, roughly 40 feet off the side of the road, according to Safechuck.
A Jeep Cherokee and a Subaru Legacy observed the GMC continuing into the southbound lane, and turned the cars into the center divider to avoid crashing into the GMC, the CHP said.
The Jeep was hit with debris from the initial crash, and the Subaru sustained minor damage from turning into the center divider.
The motorcyclist died, and the driver of the GMC was transported to Marian Regional Medical Center. The drivers of the other vehicles remained on the scene.
Alcohol and drugs do not appear to be a factor in the crash, and no arrests were made. The accident remains under investigation.
News Channel 3-12 had a crew at the scene.
