Five people were injured, three seriously, in a multi-vehicle accident on Highway 101 in Goleta Tuesday afternoon, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

The accident, involving five vehicles, occurred shortly before 5 p.m. on the northbound freeway, near the Fairview Avenue onramp, said Capt. David Sadecki.

One person suffered major injuries, two had moderate injuries, and two suffered minor injuries, Sadecki said.

Patients were trapped in two of the vehicles and had to be extricated, which took about 15 minutes, Sadecki said.

The injured were transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital. Details on their conditions were not immediately available.

Freeway lanes were blocked, and traffic was being diverted off at the Fairview offramp, according to the CHP.

One lane was reopened at about 5:30 p.m., with traffic flowing again in the remaining two by 6 p.m., the CHP said.

— 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.