On Thursday, a major head-on collision killed a man and caused serious injuries to a 34-year-old Ernest Gilbert of Santa Barbara on Highway 154.
The incident happened before 4 a.m. east of Cachuma Lake Village. A 39-year-old Ventura man was steering a 2001 Toyota while traveling westbound on the highway. Meanwhile, for unknown reasons, he took a dangerous turn and crossed the double yellow lines. Then, he veered into the eastbound lane and smashed head-on with Gilbert’s 2017 Dodge. On arrival, emergency responders found the Toyota driver deceased in his vehicle.
However, responders found Gilbert pinned in his Dodge with a traumatic injury to a lower extremity. Officers managed to remove Gilbert from his vehicle and rushed him to Santa Barbara by ground ambulance. Importantly, officers said both men were wearing safety equipment when the wreck took place. It remains unclear whether alcohol or drugs played a factor.
Later, authorities shut down Highway 154 from Highway 192 near Santa Barbara and Highway 246 in Santa Ynez for several hours. They reopened it to traffic just before 6:30 A.M.
The wreck is under investigation.
March 26, 2021
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