Big-rig driver killed in Hwy. 101 crash was from Grover Beach, CHP says

UPDATE 9:45 a.m.: The CHP has identified the driver of a big-rig who died in a crash Thursday as Charles Arthur Allison, 48, of Grover Beach. The CHP is still investigating the cause of the crash.

Allison was driving a truck registered to R&R Auto Wrecking on the Nipomo Mesa, according to CHP.

The driver and passengers in the other vehicle were also identified. The driver is 36-year-old Kelli Groves of San Juan Capistrano, a city in southern Orange County. Her passengers were 10-year-old Sage Groves and 10-week-old Milo Groves.

The baby had minor injuries in the crash; Sage Groves and Kelli Groves both had moderate injuries, according to CHP.

They were taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Their conditions were not immediately available this morning.

UPDATE 9 a.m. One lane of northbound Highway 101 south of Buellton remains closed this morning after Thursday's crash. According to the CHP, the fast lane will be closed for an "extended period."

UPDATE 7 p.m.: The driver of a big-rig was killed and three people were hospitalized Thursday after a fiery crash along Highway 101 a few miles south of Buellton and about 25 miles south of Santa Maria, according to the California Highway Patrol.

About 2:40 p.m., an empty gravel truck rear-ended, at an unknown speed, a BMW sedan in the freeway’s northbound fast lane, the CHP reported in a news release.

That forced the BMW into the center railing of a bridge over Nojoqui Creek, in the Three Bridges area south of Santa Rosa Road, the CHP said.

The truck fell about 75 feet onto the creek bed and burst into flames. Its driver was killed, according to the CHP.

The BMW got lodged in the bridge railing, hanging over the edge.

Its driver, a 40-year-old woman, and a 10-year-old passenger were flown by helicopter to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, according to the CHP. An ambulance took a 10-week-old girl to the same hospital.

The names of the people involved were not disclosed. No information has been made available on their conditions as of early Thursday night.

Original story: Both northbound and southbound lanes of Highway 101 are closed in Buellton due to a truck that is on fire, Caltrans says.

Motorists heading south are being advised to detour by using Highway 154. People heading north can take Highway 154 in Santa Barbara or Highway 1 just north of Gaviota.

The truck fire is south of the Santa Rosa Road overcrossing on the southern edge of Buellton, Caltrans said. There is no estimate on when the freeway will reopen.

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