A motorist avoided serious injury Friday night when his vehicle plunged down a creek embankment after he failed to negotiate a Highway 101 offramp in Santa Barbara. The crash on northbound Highway 101 at Arrellaga Street occurred at about 9:40 p.m., and knocked out power to some customers in the area.
A motorist avoided serious injury Friday night when his vehicle plunged down a creek embankment after he failed to negotiate a Highway 101 offramp in Santa Barbara. The crash on northbound Highway 101 at Arrellaga Street occurred at about 9:40 p.m., and knocked out power to some customers in the area. Credit: Peter Hartmann / Noozhawk photo

A motorist avoided serious injury Friday night when his vehicle plunged down a creek embankment after he failed to negotiate a Highway 101 offramp in Santa Barbara.

The crash on northbound Highway 101 at Arrellaga Street occurred at about 9:40 p.m.

The Chrysler 300 went down an embankment toward Mission Creek, sheared off a freeway sign, and knocked down a utility pole, cutting off power to customers in the area, according to Battalion Chief Richard Ames of the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.

The tight, right-turn offramp has been the site of numerous crashes over the years, Ames noted.

The driver sustained minor injuries, Ames told Noozhawk, and was taken by AMR ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

His name and details on his condition were not available.

The incident affected 31 customers, according to Southern California Edison Co., and most were expected to have power restored by noon Saturday.

Cause of the crash was under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.

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