One person was killed and four other were injured early Sunday in a collision on Highway 101 in Montecito, according to the Montecito Fire Protection District.

Firefighters and other emergency personnel were dispatched at 3:10 a.m. to the crash on the southbound freeway just before the Olive Mill Road exit where the three-lane highway merges into two lanes, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The most seriously injured were in an SUV that went down an embankment off the highway, fire officials said.

One occupant was ejected from the SUV and was fatally injured, while another suffered critical injuries and had to be extricated from the wreckage.

The identity of the dead victim was not released pending notification of relatives, and details were not available on the other.

Three people in the other vehicle sustained minor injuries, and were taken by American Medical Response ambulances to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

Their identities and details on their conditions were not available.

The right-hand freeway lane remained closed for several hours after the collision while CHP officers investigated, with no estimate of when it would be reopened.

Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.