2 Die When Wrong-Way Driver Hits 2 Vehicles
A wrong-way driver and one passenger were killed and seven other people injured in two related crashes early Saturday morning on the 101 Freeway near Refugio Road in Santa Barbara County, authorities said.
The names of those killed, both 19, were being withheld pending notification of their families in Mexico. The injured were treated at local hospitals. Their conditions were not available Saturday.
About 12:30 a.m., the driver of a Mercury Cougar carrying two other men drove south in the northbound lanes near Gaviota and struck a Chevy Malibu carrying five people from Indio, according to the California Highway Patrol. A 58-year-old passenger in the Malibu suffered minor injuries.
The Cougar then continued south, striking a Dodge Caravan carrying five people before coming to rest in the center median, officials said.
The Cougar’s driver and a passenger died instantly. A second passenger, a 31-year-old Goleta man, suffered major injuries.
All five people in the Caravan, all from Ventura County, suffered injuries ranging from major to minor.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
