Eight people were injured — three critically — in a vehicle crash on Highway 1 near Vandenberg Village on Friday morning.
A two-vehicle collision was reported on northbound Highway 1 at Santa Lucia Canyon Road at 9:24 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
All eight of the injured patients, including two women and six children, were in one vehicle, a minivan, Santa Barbara County Fire Department Capt. Scott Safechuck said.
He described the crash site as “pretty chaotic,” with debris everywhere and agencies accounting for and transporting patients to Marian Regional Medical Center, Lompoc Valley Medical Center and Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Three of the children were critically injured, and one of the infants was reportedly ejected from the vehicle, Safechuck said.
Four people had moderate injuries, and one person sustained minor injuries from the crash, and all eight people were transported to hospitals, he said.
A “mass-casualty incident” was declared, and responding agencies included CHP, County Fire, Vandenberg Space Force Base personnel, American Medical Response.
One of the injured children was flown by county helicopter to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
The CHP was investigating the cause of the collision.
County Fire personnel on the scene said one car seat “wasn’t mounted to the seat when they found it,” indicating it was not installed properly, Safechuck said.
Many fire stations and CHP offices have staff certified as car seat installers who will do it for free, and they can also check for recalled parts, he noted.
The Santa Barbara Office of the CHP happens to be doing free child passenger safety seat checks on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., and appointments can be made by calling 805.967.1234.
Highway 1 lanes were closed after the crash and reopened as of 11:30 a.m., according to Caltrans.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.