The two men killed in a wrong-way collision on Highway 101 late last month were Santa Maria residents, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. 

Emergency personnel from the Santa Maria Fire Department and the California Highway Patrol responded to a reported head-on crash involving two vehicles at approximately 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 30 on northbound Highway 101 at Broadway in Santa Maria, CHP Officer Maria Barriga said. 

The preliminary investigation suggested a 2003 Nissan Murano was traveling south in the northbound freeway lanes at an unknown speed when it collided with a 2013 Toyota Highlander going north, Barriga said. 

“The Nissan Murano was traveling the wrong direction, which resulted in a head-on crash between the two vehicles,”  Barriga said. 

American Medical Response personnel pronounced both occupants of the Murano dead at the scene.

Killed were driver Arnol Hernandez Zuniga, 30, and passenger Adrian Rojas-Ramirez, 30, both from Santa Maria, sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick said.

The Toyota’s driver, Arain Amjad, 37, of Pismo Beach, suffered major injuries, and was transported to Marian Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Details on his condition were not available.

CHP officers were investigating whether alcohol and/or drugs played a factor in the crash.

The northbound lanes of Highway 101 were closed for more than two hours while CHP officers investigated the collision and Caltrans crews cleaned up the debris. 

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact the CHP’s Santa Maria office to speak with Barriga at 805.349.8728.