A 39-year-old woman was critically injured and two children also were hurt Wednesday night when their car slammed into a tree on the Mesa in Santa Barbara.

The single-vehicle accident occurred shortly before 6 p.m. on La Cresta Circle, according to Battalion Chief Lee Waldron of the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.

The vehicle, a Toyota Prius, was eastbound on La Coronilla Drive when it left the roadway for unknown reasons and crashed into a tree on La Cresta, Waldron said.

The two children — an 8-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl — suffered only minor injuries, and were able to get out of the vehicle, but the driver was found slumped down behind the wheel with major injuries, Waldron said.

All three were transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, but their names and details on their conditions were not available Wednesday night.

“There were no skid marks or signs she tried to avoid it,” Waldron said. “She just ran into the tree.”

The vehicle was totaled in the crash, he added.

Cause of the accident remained under investigation, according to Sgt. Aaron Baker of the Santa Barbara Police Department.

— 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.