Enrique Amarales, 45, of Canoga Park was killed Friday afternoon in a fiery, single-vehicle car crash on Highway 154 near San Antonio Bridge. The Nissan Quest was traveling westbound just south of San Antonio Creek Road at a high speed when — for reasons unknown to law enforcement officials — it went over the side of the road, through the brush, and struck a berm 144 feet off the roadway, causing it to land “on its roof” about “25-30 feet” down an embankment, according to Santa Barbara County Fire spokesperson David Zaniboni and California Highway Patrol (CHP) spokesperson Jonathan Gutierrez.
The rear end of the Nissan caught on fire, but the flames didn’t extend into the brush. One unidentified occupant was declared dead on arrival when county firefighters, Los Padres Forest firefighters, and AMR (American Medical Response) officials responded at 12:30 p.m., said Zaniboni. First responders searched but did not find any passengers who may have been ejected from the vehicle. Firefighters and AMR officials remained on scene to extricate the body from the vehicle, he said. The westbound lane of Highway 154 was closed from 12:35-3:05 p.m Friday.