Highway 154 head-on crash kills 1 person, seriously injures another

One person was killed and another was seriously injured in a head-on vehicle crash early Thursday morning on Highway 154 near Lake Cachuma, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

The collision was reported at about 3:55 a.m., and responding crews found two vehicles with heavy damage, fire Capt. Daniel Bertucelli said.

One person was declared dead at the scene, and another had “lower extremity trauma” and was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital after being extricated from the wreckage, he said.

A Calstar medical helicopter was requested, but could not respond due to weather conditions, Bertucelli added. The injured person was transported by American Medical Response ambulance.

The name of the person who died was not released pending notification of relatives.

The roadway was closed in both directions for several hours after the crash, but reopened by 6:30 a.m., according to Caltrans District 5 spokesman Jim Shivers.

No further details were available.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the collision.

Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 9:56 AM.