Many crashes have occurred over the years along a stretch of Highway 1 between Vandenberg Space Force Base and Lompoc.
Community reporter Juliet Lemar found out Caltrans has plans to make some changes to the area next year.
Back in 2014, Bruce Villabos says his father was involved in a two-car crash along this stretch of Highway 1.
“He ended up getting T-boned,” he said. “Memory loss, fractured vertebrae, broke his legs, ribs, lacerated liver.”
His father survived the crash but sustained life changing injuries, according to Villabos.
“Now he can't work. There's, you know, there's a lot of limit of what he can do,” he said.
Villabos’s father is one of many drivers involved in serious crashes along Highway 1 near Vandenberg Village, which tow truck driver Louis Ortiz says are often caused by speeding and distracted driving.
“The cars, they're mangled. They're destroyed. Pieces everywhere,” he said.
Ortiz says he responds to at least one crash a week along this stretch of the highway.
“It’s a horrible feeling, like, that's somebody's family member. It's, it's sad,” he said.
Lemar reached out to the California Highway Patrol to find out just how many crashes have happened in this area this year but has not yet received a response.
She also reached out to Assemblymember Gregg Hart. In a statement, he said in part, “Caltrans is currently analyzing data from a traffic study at this intersection, as well as at Vandenberg Gate and Highway 1.”
When asked about plans for changes along the highway, Lemar was told by Caltrans that implementation of channelizers on Highway 1 near Santa Lucia Canyon Road in 2022 led to a 100 percent reduction in injury or fatal crashes in the northbound lanes. As far as what’s next, Caltrans says there are plans to improve median barrier crash cushions in 2025.
