Highway 101 lanes closed after fatal big-rig truck crash on Central Coast

One person died and southbound Highway 101 closed for hours Friday morning after a two-vehicle crash on the Gaviota Coast.

Emergency personnel were sent to the scene of a crash involving a semi-truck and a pickup truck just before 3 a.m. on southbound Highway 101 near Dos Pueblos Canyon Road, Capt. Scott Safechuck of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department said.

After the crash, the pickup truck caught fire and the male driver was pronounced dead at the scene, Safechuck said.

The semi-truck driver had minor injuries and refused transport to the hospital.

California Highway Patrol officers will investigate the cause of the crash.

For hours following the collision, southbound lanes of Highway 101 remained closed at the junctions with Highway 1, Highway 246, Mariposa Reina and El Capitan, Caltrans representatives said. Northbound lanes were open.

Caltrans initially thought a lane would reopen around 1 p.m. Friday, but representatives later said “work is continuing to remove the big-rig truck” from the lanes, where it overturned. “An update will be provided when there is a more definitive word on opening,” the agency said at 1:30 p.m.

Southbound drivers can use Highway 154 as an alternate route to the Santa Barbara area, but there was heavy traffic on the roadway.

Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com.

This story was originally published January 5, 2024 at 1:46 PM with the headline "Highway 101 lanes closed after fatal big-rig truck crash on Central Coast."