A major injury traffic accident last week resulted in six members of one family being transported by ambulance and helicopter to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment. Ten firefighters and paramedics from the Santa Barbara County Fire Dept., the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and several AMR ambulances responded to the scene on the median of Hwy. 101, just north of Refugio State Beach.

Officer Don Clotworthy of the CHP stated that at about 6:30 p.m. July 15, a late-model Suburban traveling northbound on Hwy. 101 and driven by 31-year-old Saul Sanchez of Pomona, went out of control, rolled several times, and came to rest on its wheels in the center median. As the SUV was rolling, said Clotworthy, three of the Sanchez children, seven-year-old, five-year-old and four-month-old boys, were ejected from the vehicle onto the roadway.

The infant, the most seriously injured, was transported by CalStar Air Ambulance for treatment at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. The other children and their parents were taken there by ambulance.

Adrianna and Saul Sanchez, reportedly both wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, sustained multiple cuts and abrasions and complained of neck and back pain. The three ejected children sustained multiple cuts, abrasions, contusions and neck and back pain.

According to the CHP, it did not appear that any of the three ejected children had been properly seated and restrained in a child safety seat and/or using a seatbelt as required by law. The fourth child, a three-year-old male who sustained cuts and abrasions, was seated in a car seat and not ejected.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation by CHP Officer Crissy Dabbs.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Dept. has several firefighters who voluntarily became certified as “car seat technicians,” and are available to teach workshops in the proper installation of child car seats. Interested community members may arrange for instruction by calling 681-5550 ext. 5532.

Photo by Keith D. Cullom

Caption: Capt. Sergio Sanchez and paramedic/firefighter James Simpson of the County Fire Department rush a four-month-old infant to an Air Ambulance for transport to medical treatment after he was ejected from his family’s SUV when it rolled over on Hwy. 101.