Six people were injured, two critically, Saturday afternoon when a minivan veered off Highway 166 east of Santa Maria and plunged down an embankment, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
Shortly after 2 p.m., personnel from the county Fire Department, the Santa Maria Fire Department, Los Padres National Forest, CalFire, the California Highway Patrol, and other agencies responded to the scene east of Twitchell Reservoir.
CalStar and Santa Barbara Air Support Unit helicopters also were dispatched to help transport patients, but the county aircraft was later canceled.
The westbound minivan went off the highway and about 50 feet down into the riverbed, ejecting at least one person, said fire Capt. Daniel Bertucelli.
Three patients, including two children and an adult, were seriously hurt, Bertucelli said.
In all, the incident left two people with major injuries, one with moderate injuries, and three with minor injuries, he added.
The crash prompted crews to declare a mass-casualty incident.
One critically injured patient was airlifted by Calstar medical helicopter to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Bertucelli said.
The five remaining patients were transported by ground ambulances to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria.
Their names and details on their conditions were not available.
The crash was under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.
— 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.