Three people were injured in a vehicle rollover near the Highway 101 Hope Avenue onramp in Santa Barbara Wednesday night, with one passenger requiring lengthy extrication from her vehicle.

The accident was reported at about 10:15 p.m. on the northbound side of Highway 101, just off of the Hope Avenue onramp, Santa Barbara City Fire Battalion Chief Robert Mercado told Noozhawk Thursday.

The driver suffered moderate injuries and because of the amount of damage to her vehicle, fire crews worked for 20 to 30 minutes to free her from the vehicle with the Jaws of Life and cutting equipment.

“Our job is not to pull them out of the vehicle, but to pull the vehicle away from them,” Mercado said.

Two people in a second vehicle suffered minor injuries, he said.

Drivers and passengers should remember to wear their safety belts, Mercado noted, but would not say if any of those injured hadn’t been wearing them.

Santa Barbara County Fire, the California Highway Patrol and the Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies were also on scene.

All three patients were transported to by ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Mercado said. Details on their injuries and conditions were not available.

— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.