[Updated 1:25 p.m.]
A single-vehicle rollover in Lompoc on Wednesday morning resulted in two major injuries — to the 18-year-old female driver and 8-year-old female passenger — and the death of a 10-year-old female passenger, according to a report from California Highway Patrol Officer Michael Griffith.
The crash occurred shortly before 8 a.m. on Highway 1, just south of Santa Lucia Canyon Road, where an SUV veered off the right shoulder and rolled into heavy brush, at least 50 feet off the side of the road.
Griffith said that the teenage driver of the 2002 GMC Envoy “made an unsafe turning movement” at an undetermined speed, causing the SUV to flip multiple times and “ejecting the two passengers before coming to rest on its side.” Alcohol and drugs are not considered a factor in this crash.
Emergency crews arrived to find the adult driver and a child passenger with varying injuries. Another other child was “found deceased” under the vehicle, according to County Fire Public Information Officer Mike Eliason
The 18-year-old driver was transported by ground to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria., while the child was flown to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
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Earlier reports had stated that there may have been three injured, as crews were unsure whether more victims were involved in the accident — potentially another juvenile that may have been a passenger — and continued to search by ground and air in the area near the crash.
“Due to the extent of injuries to those involved, a correct count of those that were in the vehicle could not be verified,” Eliason said.
Southbound lanes on the highway were temporarily closed while emergency personnel worked the scene.
About two hours after the incident, Eliason reported that “the potential juvenile occupant has been located and not involved in the accident.”
The search was called off, and the road was cleared for traffic.
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