The southbound Mission Street on- and offramps on Highway 101, and the Mission Street underpass itself, were reopened Monday afternoon following a Santa Barbara police investigation of an early morning collision that left a bicyclist with serious head injuries.
According to Sgt. Lorenzo Duarte, an SBPD spokesman, the 6:39 a.m. collision involved a red Nissan vehicle and a bicycle. Officers responded to find, Johan Montoya, the 23-year-old cyclist, unresponsive and with serious head injuries. Montoya was wearing a bicycle helmet. He was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where he is listed in stable but critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit.
The female driver of the car, Lilia Buenrostro, 34, was not injured. Police earlier had listed Buenrostro’s age as 54.
The police Collision Reconstruction Team is investigating the accident and had closed the southbound ramps to conduct its work. Any witness with information is urged to call the SBPD traffic accident investigator at 805.897.3719.