Edhat Staff
Update by the edhat staff
June 7, 2023
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff Coroner’s Bureau has release the identities of the three victims involved in the traffic collision Tuesday on Highway 1 near Lompoc.
The victims, all from Santa Maria, are:
- 48-year-old Adelina Cortez Olea
- 47-year-old Zeferino Chavez Martinez
- 18-year-old Rosalva Chavez Cortez
By the edhat staff
June 6, 2023
[This article has been updated with information provided by the California Highway Patrol]
Three people have died from an early morning traffic collision on Highway 1 near Lompoc.
At 5:55 a.m. Tuesday, Santa Barbara County Firefighters, California Highway Patrol (CHP), and Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the northbound lanes, south of Constellation Road, and discovered a collision involving two vehicles, a 2008 Kia sedan and a 2017 Chevy pickup truck.
The sedan was carrying three occupants, all pronounced dead on the scene by emergency responders. The pickup truck had two occupants that sustained minor injuries and were transported to Marian Regional Medical Center by a ground ambulance.
The CHP states the Kia was traveling southbound while the Chevy was traveling northbound
“For undetermined reasons, the driver of the Kia allowed his vehicle to travel to the left, into the opposing lanes of traffic, directly into the path of the approaching Chevrolet. Subsequently, the front of the Chevrolet collided into the left side of the Kia,” CHP states.
The identities of the occupants inside the Kia have yet to be released, pending next of kin notification.
The Chevy truck was driven by a 52-year-old Lompoc man with a 19-year-old male passenger from Lompoc.
Both northbound lanes were closed for several hours with a hard closure at Hancock Drive. The roadway reopened around 10:00 a.m. Tuesday.
The collision is under investigation. At this time CHP does not believe alcohol or drugs to be a factor in this crash. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact CHP Officer Hinojosa at 805-688-5551.
This is a developing story.
Considering the time of this accident, the 3 occupants could have been coming over from SM to work in the fields. Those crews are out there very early. Very sad.
Or maybe they’re nurses at Cottage Hospital. No need to speculate based on their name that they work in the fields. Ridiculous.