Vehicle Catches Fire After Crashing into Guardrail
Photos: Santa Barbara County Fire Department
By edhat staff
Santa Barbara County firefighters responded to a single-vehicle collision that caught fire near the Gaviota Tunnel on Wednesday evening.
At 6:45 p.m., firefighters, California Highway Patrol (CHP), CalStar helicopter, and an ambulance responded to the scene a 1/2 mile north of the tunnel on Highway 101 northbound.
The vehicle had crashed into the center guardrail and was on fire. The driver was alone in the vehicle and self extricated with minor injuries.
Firefighters extinguished the vehicle fire as CHP temporarily closed a northbound lane in the area. All lanes are currently open.
CHP is investigating the cause of this incident.
13 Comments
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Nov 15, 2019 09:30 AMNot all accidents are reported because there are so many This one was non injury it says minor injury but I heard non injury they never get posted..Lately there have been so many vehicle accidents both injury and non injury unless the injuries are serious, or there is mayor blockage on the road, no post..So far this morning two Drunk drivers City of S.B...
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Nov 14, 2019 09:17 AMI think the full graphic photos of these accidents and injuries should be widely distributed. When I was a kid my dad had "Highway Patrol" magazines out for his teenage children to thumb through because there was always a large section that had many disgusting photos of accidents and the carnage, and explanations of how/why it happened. My siblings and I are now middle age, but none of us every got in an accident (knock on wood) and we are all avid drivers. Scared straight and it worked. It educated us. People need to SEE the results of what inattention to your circumstances (speed, weather, road conditions, proximity to others) does. Bring on the photos!
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Nov 14, 2019 08:09 AMOut of curiosity, I heard this on the scanner. Who pays for the guard rail replacement? I am assuming us. They said they needed to replace like 25 feet of guard rail.
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Nov 14, 2019 11:30 AMThe driver is billed for the damage to public property. I once got into a fender bender and asked the responding officer about it, and he confirmed it (luckily mine didn't involve damage to anything apart from my own car, so no bill for me!).
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Nov 14, 2019 07:44 AMIsn’t this the third single vehicle accident on that stretch of 101 this week?!
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Nov 15, 2019 09:10 AM420722 ..."I'm hate"?... First of all we're talking about accidents, not events. Then why don't you offer some proof of these accidents. IE, Police, SO or CHP reports as they respond and report to almost all accidents even non injury............But what I'm really curious about is how 7:44 AM came up with all these accidents since they were never reported. I searched this site and others so I have verifying sources, something that seems lacking but supported on this bogus observation. That seems to be a major problem here. People posting unverified facts and and everyone agreeing with them. These unsubstantiated postings only undermine the credibility of this sight .
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Nov 14, 2019 09:36 PMI’m hate to let you down tadges but not every single event that happens is published on Edhat or the news.
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Nov 14, 2019 12:07 PMNo, unless you know something other than what's been reported here and other local news there has been only 1 other accident of any kind on the 101 between Santa Barbara and Buellton in over a month and it was nowhere near this one.
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Nov 13, 2019 10:45 PMNorthbound? That's surprising.
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Nov 14, 2019 04:30 PMPlease do not "ignore the dummy behind you." California law requires that "Slower Traffic Keep Right" and that is reflected on the numerous regulatory signs posted in the median. When you are not in the process of passing or making a left turn, you should merge right. This allows faster traffic to pass and reduces congestion. Do not drive slowly in the left lane or ignore other traffic. You will force people to pass you on the right, increase congestion, and contribute to causing accidents.
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Nov 14, 2019 01:06 PMAgree with 10:45 PM, the vehicle hit the bull nose of the guardrail ( obvious from the damage ) at the end of the tangent between 2 wide radius curves and just past the 65 mph regulatory sign. So it happened at an increase speed designated spot as opposed to the posted 60 mph through the tunnel area. Interestingly the first guardrail out of the tunnel is an older buried taper which tends to launch vehicles airborne and this with a newer break-a-way bull nose stopped it pretty much right there and only minor injuries.
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Nov 14, 2019 08:07 AMIgnore the dummy behind you - "It's hard if someone's right on your tail"
Watch where you're going and maintain a safe speed.
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Nov 13, 2019 11:05 PMI'm not surprised. The road is really curvy just north of the tunnel and requires slowing down a bit to navigate it safely. It's hard if someone's right on your tail, too, which isn't uncommon. I'm surprised there aren't more accidents in that section.