Driver killed in Hwy 101 crash

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

A construction vehicle hit a guardrail and a concrete pillar after drifting off the side of Highway 101 in Carpinteria this morning, killing one person at the scene.
Authorities suspect the driver of the paint striping vehicle fell asleep at the wheel as he drove southbound at around 6:10 a.m.

Witnesses told California Highway Patrol officers the vehicle, a 1990 Isuzu, drifted out of the slow lane and through several hundred feet of vegetation before hitting a concrete support for the Bailard Avenue overpass and flipping onto its roof.
“The driver of the Isuzu, a male resident of Sylmar, was pronounced dead at the scene due to blunt force impact trauma,” CHP Spokesman Don Clotworthy said in a press statement. “The right front passenger, 35-year-old Gabriel Luna, of Santa Paula, was extricated out of the vehicle by the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Department.”
Authorities later identified the driver as Sergio Garcia, 54, following notification of his next of kin.
Fire officials said they removed Luna from the vehicle with hydraulic rescue equipment in about 20 minutes. After being transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Luna received treatment for minor injuries, Clotworthy said. Both occupants had their seatbelts fastened at the time of the accident.
Clotworthy said they had been returning to Ventura County after an overnight striping job at the Santa Barbara Airport. Although the investigation remains open, CHP investigators believe the driver fell asleep.
Caltrans workers cleaned up a small amount of paint spilled from the Isuzu after inspectors deemed it not hazardous. Authorities said the accident did not result in any damage to the Bailard Avenue overpass.
CHP officers closed down the right lane of the highway during the investigation and cleanup process, reopening it at around 10 a.m.