A female motorist was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence Sunday after she collided with another driver at the intersection of Highway 154 and Paradise Road, causing major injuries to two passengers.

Adriana Ponces, 28, of Newbury Park, was driving a 2004 Ford Focus with four passengers southbound on Paradise Road when she stopped at the stop sign at Highway 154, according to California Highway Patrol officer James Studabaker.

Approaching the intersection of Paradise Road in the highway’s westbound lane was Elizabeth Nally, 42, of Grover Beach, driving a 2000 Dodge Durango. As Nally neared Ponces’ vehicle, the latter began a lefthand turn into the eastbound highway lane, directly in front of Nally’s truck, Studabaker said.

Nally, who police said was driving 55 to 60 miles per hour, braked but was unable to avoid a collision, and the front end of her truck struck the left side of Ponces’ car, according to the CHP report. All passengers from the Ford, as well as Nally, were transported via ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, the report said.

Studabaker determined that Ponces was driving under the influence of alcoho and operating a vehicle without a driver’s license, and she was arrested at the scene. Studabaker transported Ponces to Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital, where she was diagnosed with minor cuts and a bruise.

She was then booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, causing injury to another operating a motor vehicle without a valid license, according to the police report.

Two of the four passengers in Ponces’ vehicle suffered major injuries in the collision, according to the CHP. Oscar Gomez, 19, of Oxnard, who had been seated in the left rear of the Ford, sustained a broken and severely lacerated left ankle and a broken right arm. The middle rear passenger, Leticia Gonzalez, 22, of Oxnard, sustained severe internal abdominal injuries. Both Gomez and Gonzales required surgery for their injuries, police said.

Gomez was released from the hospital Monday morning, but Gonzalez remained in the intensive care unit in critical condition, said Janet O’Neill, a spokeswoman for Cottage Health Systems.

The two other passengers in Ponces’ vehicle were Edgar Vega Gomez, 27, and Yuridia Tzompantzi, 19, both of Oxnard, according to the police report.

— Noozhawk staff writer Laurie Jervis can be reached at ljervis@noozhawk.com.