The California Highway Patrol closed northbound Highway 101 lanes after a big rig crash Wednesday morning. 
The California Highway Patrol closed northbound Highway 101 lanes after a big rig crash Wednesday morning. 
The California Highway Patrol closed northbound Highway 101 lanes after a big rig crash Wednesday morning.
A crash involving two big rigs led to the temporary closure of northbound Highway 101 south of Buellton on Wednesday morning.
At approximately 5:30 a.m., a tractor-trailer driven by Gargis Maged, 40, of Redondo Beach, was traveling north on Highway 101 south of Santa Rosa Road, when the vehicle drifted out of the traffic lane and sideswiped a guardrail in the Three Bridges area, California Highway Patrol Officer Rick Larson said.
The big rig became disabled and a second tractor-trailer, driven by Luis Cardoza, 40, of Pomona, attempted to avoid a collision but crashed into the rear of the first vehicle.
One tractor-tractor involved a tanker truck while the second pulled a flatbed trailer.
Neither driver was injured in the crash, according to the CHP, but one lane of Highway 101 was closed due to the wreck.
The northbound lanes were closed for several hours Wednesday morning and early afternoon so crews could remove the vehicles from the roadway.
As of 2:30 p.m., both lanes were reopened to through traffic.
Northbound traffic was advised to use a detour by using Highway 1 to reach Highway 246 to re-enter Highway 101, or to use the alternate route of Highway 154 to travel from the Santa Barbara area to north of the closure.
The incident also damaged between 50 and 100 feet of guardrail, and the bridge railing, according to emergency dispatch reports.
— 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.