UPDATE (12:11 p.m.) - Officials have released additional details about the semi truck that overturned and blocked southbound Hwy 101 for several hours on Tuesday morning.
The crash happened around 5:05 a.m., officials say, when Fabian Funes, 33, of San Bernardino, was driving a 40-foot box truck southbound through Buellton.
Funes had passed Santa Rosa Rd. He was driving in the left southbound lane when he turned the truck in a southwest direction, causing it to veer across all southbound lanes of the highway and hit a dirt embankment along the shoulder.
After the crash, the truck overturned on its left side, blocking the highway to all southbound traffic.
Funes suffered minor injuries in the crash and was not taken to a hospital.
Officials say that alcohol or drugs do not appear to be a factor in the crash, though the investigation is ongoing.
The southbound lanes of the highway were closed for about four hours while officials cleared the area.
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UPDATE (10:30 a.m.) - The southbound lanes of Hwy 101 have reopened after an overturned big rig blocked traffic.
The closure was lifted before 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Initially, officials had estimated the closure would last two hours, but it lasted over four hours.
UPDATE: All lanes of southbound US 101 are now open in the Buellton area of Santa Barbara County following a traffic incident involving a big-rig truck early this morning.@CaltransD5 https://t.co/5Z8VowfT1J
— Jim Shivers (@PIOJimShivers) November 16, 2021
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(6:49 a.m.) - An overturned big rig has blocked the southbound lanes of Highway 101 from south of Santa Rosa Road in Buellton.
Travelers are directed to use the center divided to pass the incident.
Caltrans said they expect the highway to re-open in two hours.
