A Clovis man was arrested after driving the wrong way on Highway 101 and causing two crashes Tuesday night outside of Los Alamos, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP officers say reports started coming in around 7:39 p.m. of a freightliner truck heading southbound in the northbound lanes of the highway south of Los Alamos.
Officers say several crashes almost occurred before two vehicles trying to avoid the truck ended up crashing south of Alisos Canyon Road.
The gas tank on one of the vehicles ruptured, spilling approximately 50 gallons of diesel onto the dirt shoulder of the road, according to CHP.
The Santa Barbara County Fire Department reported one person sustained minor injuries in that crash.
The truck, however, kept heading southbound in the northbound lanes before crashing head-on into a Toyota Tundra just south of Highway 154, blocking one of the lanes, according to CHP.
The driver of the freightliner, identified as Christopher Moreno, 32, of Clovis and his passenger, a 31-year-old man from Squaw Valley, were reportedly able to get out of the truck on their own but were later taken to the hospital to be treated for moderate to major injuries.
CHP says the driver of the Toyota, identified as a 44-year-old Los Osos man, had to be pulled from his truck and was airlifted to the hospital to be treated for major injuries.
Moreno was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Officers say approximately 30 gallons of diesel leaked into the dirt median due to that crash. Caltrans crews were out Wednesday morning cleaning up the spilled fuel from both locations.
