Two people were seriously injured Monday afternoon in a collision blamed on drunken driving west of Santa Maria.
At approximately 2:40 p.m., personnel from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the California Highway Patrol, and the county sheriff’s deputies responded to the incident near the intersection of Brown and Betteravia roads.
An American Medical Response ambulance and Calstar medical helicopter also were dispatched.
Firefighters conducted heavy extrication to free one of the victims trapped in the wreckage, said fire Capt. Daniel Bertucelli.
Cesar Chavez, 23, of Guadalupe had two broken legs and was transported to Marian Regional Medical Center via Calstar.
On Tuesday, CHP Officer Benjamin Smith said one driver, Fidel Lopez, 19, of Santa Maria was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol and felony hit and run.
He reportedly had tried to make a left turn onto Brown Road in the path of the other vehicle, causing the crash, the CHP said.
Lopez attempted to drive away from the crash site but only made it 100 yards since his vehicle became inoperaable.
The CHP said Lopez was not injured in the crash.
Betteravia Road was closed for approximately 20 minutes so CalStar could land to pick up one of the injured victims, CHP dispatchers reported.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.