A white Toyota Corolla hybrid rolled on Highway 101 Monday, after the vehicle veered onto the median five miles south of the Gaviota Tunnel.
A reporter witnessed the northbound car signal briefly for a left turn before entering a left hand turn lane along the coastal stretch. Instead of turning, the vehicle continued straight, careening into the center divider and landing upside down minutes before 1 p.m.
Passersby quickly responded, and a man who appeared to be a first responder wearing an Alan Hancock Fire Academy T-shirt led an effort to pull the single occupant, a woman, from the driver’s side front window after reportedly kicking it in.
After exiting the vehicle at about 1:03 p.m., the woman sat upright and spoke with rescuers. The California Highway Patrol and the Santa Barbara County Fire Department subsequently responded to the scene, and the woman was transported via ambulance for further medical attention.
The accident did not impede north or southbound traffic.
“She was still inside the vehicle when I got there,” said Jake DiNolfi, a park ranger at Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, who was off duty, doubled back after witnessing the crash in his rear view mirror, and helped with the rescue.
The driver, DiNolfi said, was alert and in “surprisingly way better condition than I thought she was going to be.”
