2 injured as fiery car crash closes Hwy. 41 in SLO County
A vehicle crashed and caught fire on Highway 41 on Friday afternoon, injuring two people and halting traffic in both directions in northern San Luis Obispo County.
According to the California Highway Patrol’s Traffic Incident Information Page, at around 12:40 p.m. the CHP received a report of a vehicle that had overturned and caught fire along the highway north of the Cholame Y.
Though the vehicle came to a rest off the roadway, the fire gave off thick, black smoke that obscured drivers’ vision, causing the CHP to close the road in both directions.
Multiple fire engines and an aerial attack helicopter were dispatched to the scene of the crash at around 12:46 p.m., according to the CHP page.
The helicopter touched down at the scene of the crash at around 1:08 p.m. and located two occupants of the vehicle who suffered minor and moderate injuries, according to the emergency radio traffic.
Both were transported to the hospital, one by air and one by ground, CHP spokesman Ryan Armstrong told The Tribune.
The fire was in the process of being knocked down by Cal Fire as of around 1:10 p.m., according to the radio traffic.
This story was originally published January 9, 2026 at 1:22 PM.
