UPDATE (12:57 p.m.)
Santa Barbara CHP have announced that all lanes of Highway 101 in the area of the crash have been reopened.
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UPDATE (10:30 a.m.) - A total of six cars were involved in Thursday morning's crash, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officers say the driver of a Ford Expedition traveling northbound crossed the center divide into southbound traffic.
Two people in the Expedition were killed and three were taken to the hospital with major injuries.
Two people in another vehicle also reportedly suffered major injuries.
The CHP is investigating what caused the driver to cross into oncoming traffic.
The highway is expected to be closed for at least a few more hours.
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UPDATE (9 a.m.) - According to Caltrans, the southbound lanes of Highway 101 near El Capitan Ranch Road are closed due to the two-vehicle rollover crash.
Officials suggest using Highway 154 as an alternate route.
Caltrans officials say the estimated time for reopening the highway is 1 p.m.
SigAlert: both lanes of southbound #Hwy101 near El Capitan Ranch Rd are CLOSED by 2-vehicle rollover crash so use caution, expect traffic delay & take #Hwy154 as detour. @CHP_SantaBarb
— Caltrans District 5 (@CaltransD5) July 15, 2021
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(8:54 a.m.) - California Highway Patrol is responding to a fatal crash near El Capitan State Beach.
The crash happened at around 7:58 a.m. on southbound Highway 101 near El Capitan Ranch Road.
According to Santa Barbara County Fire officials, two people were killed in the crash and four others suffered critical injuries.
According to California Highway Patrol, two vehicles crashed hitting the center divider.
CHP issued a SIG Alert in the area saying the entire highway is blocked.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
This is a developing story and will be updated when new information becomes available.
#ElCap Incident- 2 people were killed, 4 others with critical injuries following a 2 vehicle accident (Expedition & Grand Caravan) Hwy 101 s/b south of El Capitan Ranch Rd. Extensive extrication req. 4 taken to SB Cottage & CHP investigating. s/b fwy blocked. C/T 7:59 (SBC pics) pic.twitter.com/wclxqZCjCk
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) July 15, 2021
