Vehicle Collision Closes SR-154 in Both Directions

A vehicle collision on SR-154 near Painted Cave caused the shutdown of traffic in both directions late Thursday evening.

At 11:10 p.m., Santa Barbara County firefighters responded just east of Painted Cave Road with an ambulance and California Highway Patrol. Upon arrival, crews discovered a pickup truck on its roof and completely involved in fire, said Captain Dave Zaniboni.

Two occupants inside the truck were uninjured and able to get out of the vehicle before crews arrived. The fire was contained to the vehicle and did not spread to nearby vegetation.

The second vehicle is a two-door sedan with one male occupant who was trapped inside. Crews extracted the driver and he was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital with moderate injuries. 

Both lanes of SR-154 remain closed as of 11:55 p.m. Thursday, said Zaniboni.

CHP is investigating the cause of this incident.