Santa Barbara County firefighters respond to the accident scene
Capt. David Sadecki

The CHP has the released the name of the person killed in a head-on collision Wednesday afternoon on a rain-slicked Highway 154. Michael Allen Okerblom, 31, was declared dead at the scene.

According the CHP incident report, the accident occurred at approximately 2:38 p.m. just west of San Antonia Creek Road. Okerblom, from Nipomo, was driving a 2004 Hyundai sedan. He was traveling eastbound toward Santa Barbara when, for reasons unknown, he struck the embankment on his side of the road, then swerved into oncoming traffic in the westbound lane. The passenger side of Okerblom’s car collided with the front of a 2013 Lexus sedan traveling west and occupied by a 66-year-old woman from Santa Ynez who sustained minor injuries. Both she and Okerblom were wearing seat belts at the time.

Highway 154 was closed in both directions for approximately two-and-a-half hours after the incident as authorities responded to the scene. The investigation is ongoing, and it’s not known if alcohol or drugs played a part in the collision.

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