Edhat Staff
Update by Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
March 30, 2021
The Coroner’s Bureau is releasing the name of the driver who was killed in the traffic collision Hwy 154 east of Cachuma Lake Village on 3/25/21. The decedent is 39-year-old Sean Daye McDonough of Ventura.
Update by edhat staff
9:00 a.m., March 25, 2021
One person is dead and another is injured following a head-on collision on Highway 154 at Lake Cachuma early Thursday morning.
At 3:56 a.m., Santa Barbara County firefighters responded a 1/4 mile south of the Lake Cachuma exit. An air ambulance was requested to respond but was unable to fly due to weather.
Upon arrival, crews found a two-vehicle collision between two sedans, both with heavy damage. Crews discovered one patient was pronounced dead on arrival and another suffered trauma to their lower extremity. Extensive extrication was required to remove that patient from the vehicle before being transferred to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital by ground ambulance.
Highway 154 was closed in both directions at the collision site, it was reopened around 6:30 a.m. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the collision.
Photo: SBCFD
Reported by an edhat reader
5:00 a.m., March 25, 2021
I was camping at cachuma when at 4am I heard a loud crunch and a man screaming for help. I called 911 and ran to the scene to discover a fatality.
A friend contracts out to a local towing company, and says the tow-truck drivers refer to this road as “The Chu-Smash Highway.” Even if no one was drinking, high, or distracted driving, there would be and are horrible traffic accidents on the road. IF it were my decision, I would put a barrier between lanes the whole length of this terror road, and slap a 45 mph speed limit on it to boot! I do not hold the casino responsible for the actions of their customers, but they do nothing from a PR standpoint to reduce the anger toward them. How much would a tunnel cost them to build from the Casino to say Goleta? Just kidding of course, but what an idea…a tunnel with breathalyzers at each entrance!
And the one that died in the debris was in their lane sadly while the culprit survives as so often happens.
i always thought the county should have swapped the Indian casino site land
for a nice spot on the 101 in Buelton – ie the PowWow Annex? It would have kept traffic on roads designed for more fast traffic. And made the 154 less of
an alternative.
my other idea was to move Nevada border to Hwy 395 – reduce the traffic to Vegas. Make Barstow boom. Or just legalize gambling in California by each County. Cuts down the plane , bus and car traffic too. A Vegas trains might have worked but someone banned smoking cars. And where are the Surf-Liner and Metro-Link commuter trains for the Central Coast? No need for bloated trains, just put steel wheels on some old buses?