UPDATE (4:56 p.m.) - A Lancaster woman was killed and a man injured when their truck went over the side of Highway 166 Friday morning.
The California Highway Patrol says the 19-year-old woman was heading westbound on the highway east of Sierra Madre Road around 8 a.m. when the Chevrolet Silverado crossed into the eastbound lanes and onto the shoulder of the road.
Officers say part of the truck hit a guardrail before going down the hillside where it rolled.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger, identified as a 21-year-old man from Lancaster, suffered major injuries and was flown to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment.
CHP says the driver was wearing a seatbelt but reports the passenger was not restrained.
The crash closed Highway 166 at Highway 101 in Santa Maria for part of the day. All lanes were fully reopened around 2 p.m.
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ORIGINAL STORY: One person is dead and one other has been airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Santa Barbara County following a car accident on Highway 166 Friday morning, according to Santa Barbara County Fire officials.
County fire officials said a car went over 200 feet over the side of a bridge on Highway 166 just east of Rockfront Ranch, leaving one person dead. This happened just after 8 a.m. on Friday.
A Santa Barbara County helicopter airlifted the other person in critical condition to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Highway 166 was closed in both directions. But just after 11:30 a.m., Caltrans announced there was one-way reversing traffic control at this location.
Caltrans officials confirmed that Highway 166 was fully reopened in both directions just after 2 p.m.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more information as it becomes available.
