A Santa Maria man has been identified as the driver killed in a single-vehicle, rollover crash that occurred sometime early Saturday south of Orcutt, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The driver, Marcus Anthony Irving, 44, from rural Santa Maria, was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
At approximately 7:15 a.m., personnel from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and law enforcement agencies responded to the crash on Highway 135, north of a Graciosa Road.
Investigators believe the black 2004 Saturn Vue crashed between midnight and 7 a.m. after traveling southbound on the highway at a high speed.
“Due to an unsafe turning movement by the solo male driver, the Saturn veered off the highway, down and up a steep embankment, launching over Graciosa Road, and landing in a dirt field where it overturned,” CHP Officer Benjamin Smith said Monday.
The investigation is ongoing, and CHP officers have not determined if drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.
Santa Maria CHP officers have asked that anyone who witnessed the crash call 805.349.8728.
A GoFundMe page, available by clicking here, created to help the family had raised $980 toward the $10,000 goal as of Wednesday.
— 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.