Highway 101 southbound near Montecito was closed Thursday morning due to an early morning collision involving at least three vehicles, two of which were semi-trucks.
Emergency crews responded at around 1:41 a.m. for a report of a traffic collision along the highway near Sheffield Drive in the construction zone.
No one was injured in the collision, according to the Montecito Fire Department.
The California Highway Patrol said at around 4:30 a.m. that the southbound side of the highway is expected to be closed for five hours due to the diesel fuel spill and debris in the roadway.
The CHP said one lane had reopened around 8:20 a.m., but there was no estimated time the highway would fully reopen.
“Crews are now working to clean up a sizable fuel spill,” a Caltrans District 5 spokesperson said.
Crews were diverting traffic onto San Ysidro Road, per the Highway Patrol.
“A 34-year-old Corona resident was driving a Freightliner in the number two lane when a truck tractor combination began passing it in the number one lane,” Santa Barbara CHP Officer Jon Gutierrez said.
“For reasons still under investigation, the Freightliner veered to the left and collided into the truck tractor combination which pushed it into the concrete center divider.
A Lexus vehicle traveling in the right-hand lane collided with the back of the Freightliner and then veered to the right, hitting the guardrail along the shoulder, Gutierrez said.
The collision caused a 60-gallon diesel fuel spill on the lanes, he added.
Lanes were closed for the crash investigation, removing the vehicles, and cleaning up the fuel spill, according to the CHP.
Anyone with information regarding the crash is encouraged to contact the Santa Barbara, California Highway Patrol office at (805)770-4800, Gutierrez said.
“Motorist are advised to avoid the areas, use alternate routes when possible, and allow additional travel time,” said Santa Barbara Area Commander Captain Eric Zivic.
Additional information was not immediately available.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates.
