Fatal crash shuts down highway near SLO County line
The CHP confirmed one person died in Wednesday morning crash on Highway 166.
The crash, which was reported at about 6:50 a.m., shut down a portion of the highway 166 near the San Luis Obispo-Santa Barbara county line.
In a post on X, CHP-Santa Maria warned motorists of a traffic collision east of Pine Canyon Road that had blocked all lanes of Highway 166.
In a slightly later post around 7:36 a.m., Caltrans District 5 said on X that the crash had closed the highway “in both directions east of Pine Canyon Road — about 18 miles east of junction with US 101.”
In a post on X at 10:18 a.m., the agency said a lane of the highway had reopened after “a fatal crash from early this morning.”
Roughly 30 minutes later, Caltrans announced all lanes of the highway had reopened.
This story was originally published March 25, 2026 at 9:35 AM.
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