Two people were killed in a multi-vehicle crash on Highway 1 just north of Highway 135 near Orcutt late Saturday night, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
The crash was one of two serious traffic incidents near Orcutt that occurred within minutes of one another.
At 10:17 p.m., personnel from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the California Highway Patrol and Vandenberg Space Force Base were dispatched to the first collision, fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said.
Two people were pronounced dead at the scene, and one other had minor injuries, according to the CHP.
The collision occurred as a Honda Civic driven by a 41-year-old Santa Maria man was northbound on Highway 1, approaching the Y interchange, at a high rate of speed, according to the CHP.
It struck the left rear of a Nissan Sentra that also was headed north, causing fatal injuries to an 18-year-old woman who was sitting in the left rear seat, the CHP said.
The Civic overturned before coming to rest on its wheels in the highway median.
The driver of the Civic then exited his vehicle, the CHP said, and walked into the southbound traffic lanes, where he was struck and killed by a GMC Yukon driven by a 49-year-old Lompoc man.
The driver of the Sentra, a 19-year-old Nipomo woman, sustained minor injuries, the CHP said.
It is unknown if the Civic driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the CHP, adding that the other two drivers were evaluated and cleared.
The names of those involved were not released by the CHP.
At 10:20 p.m., firefighters from the Santa Barbara County and Santa Maria Fire departments were dispatched to a two-vehicle collision with at least one person trapped, Safechuck said.
The crash involving a 2007 Honda and a 1997 Nissan occurred near the intersection of Union Valley Parkway and Orcutt Road, the CHP said.
Two occupants of the Nissan — a Santa Maria man and woman, both 75 — suffered critical injuries, and extrication was required to free them from the wreckage, the CHP said.
Both were transported to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria.
Their names and details on their conditions were not available.
The driver of the Honda, a 62-year-old Lompoc man, was not hurt, but was found to be under the influence at the time of the crash, the CHP said.
The man, whose name was not released, was arrested on suspicion of felony drunken driving causing injury, and was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail.
CHP officers from the Santa Maria area were investigating both incidents and had requested that the vehicles be towed from the scene as evidence.
— 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.
