Two crashes leave officer injured, cause 101 traffic jams during morning and afternoon rush hour

CARPINTERIA, Calif. - Two crashes caused nearly eight hours of traffic on Monday and sent two people to the hospital, including a CHP motorcycle officer from Santa Barbara.

Drivers stuck in the traffic soon learned that a commercial truck overturned near Sea Cliff around 7 a.m. and a stolen car was involved in a crash after driving the wrong way on the 101.

Drivers saw the wrong way driver going north in southbound lanes near La Conchita around 11 a.m.

When the motorcycle officer tried to stop the maroon Mazda 3, the driver hit the breaks, and a woman driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee crashed into both from behind. The impact sent the Mazda into a concrete wall.

CHP spokesperson Steve Lutzke said the officer and the Jeep driver were taken to the hospital with minor-to-moderate injuries.

That only added to the traffic that began in the morning following the truck accident in a construction zone with only two lanes open.

Officer Lutzke said, "The truck had a crane or boom attached to it, and that caused all lanes to be blocked."

The driver was not seriously hurt and offered to help officers trying to clear the wreckage.

While some drivers detoured along Highway 33 and Highway 150 to get to Santa Barbara, others just pulled over and waited it out.

David Bonilla had to wait for it to clear.

"Four hours I didn't get off that exit [Bailard] until almost 3:40 [p.m.], said Bonilla who pulled and parked while he waited for traffic to clear.

The speed limit is 55 in construction zones and officers want to remind drivers they should give themselves extra time to get where they're going since a number of 101 improvements projects are underway.

The improvement project underway just north of Ventura will take two years. A widening project is going on in Carpinteria. Most of of the work is visible at night.