Major injuries were reported late Friday night in a collision involving a possible wrong-way driver on Highway 1 just south of Orcutt.
The crash occurred just before midnight in the southbound lanes two miles north of Graciosa Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The collision involved a black BMW that reportedly was traveling northbound in the southbound lanes and slammed into a red sedan, the CHP said.
Santa Barbara County firefighters were dispatched to the scene, and had to extricate a critically injured victim from the wreckage, according to fire Capt. Daniel Bertucelli.
An AMR ambulance responded to transport the injured person to the Santa Maria Airport to meet a Calstar medical helicopter for a flight to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Bertucelli said.
Two other people reportedly sustained minor injuries in the crash, with at least one being transported by AMR ambulance to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria.
CHP Officer Rob Miller said Saturday night that the driver, a 50-year-old Paso Robles man staying in Santa Maria, apparently became lost and made a U-turn, ending up traveling in the wrong direction on the road.
The other driver tried to take evasive action, but his vehicle was struck almost broadside near the front passenger’s seat, Miller added.
The driver and passenger, reportedly in their early 20s, live in Santa Maria.
The names of the injured and their conditions were not available Saturday.
The vehicles involved came to rest blocking the southbound lanes, the CHP said, adding that one lane was reopened shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday.
Alcohol and drugs were not considered factors in the collision, which remained under investigation.
Additional details were not immediately available.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.