Two people were injured Tuesday night in a head-on collision on Highway 101 near Los Alamos, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

The accident, which closed down northbound Highway 101 for more than an hour, occurred a mile north of Alisos Canyon Road at about 7:35 p.m., said fire Capt. David Sadecki.

The collision happened after a southbound Saturn sedan, driven by Keith J. Thompson, 31, of Santa Cruz, drifted into the center divider and crossed over into the northbound lanes, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The Saturn smashed into a Toyota Camry driven by Colleen Harmon, 56, of Arroyo Grande, who swerved to the right but was unable to avoid a collision, the CHP said.

Harmon, who suffered moderate injuries, was transported by ambulance to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria.

Thompson, who was trapped in his vehicle and had to be extricated, a process that took about 20 minutes, suffered major injuries, and was flown by Calstar helicopter to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, the CHP said.

The roadway was completely open again at about 9:25 p.m., the CHP said.

Cause of the accident remained under investigation.

— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.