A Bakersfield woman who drove her minivan the wrong way on Highway 101 north of Buellton - colliding with three vehicles and causing several injuries - remained in custody Monday night on suspicion of driving under the influence causing bodily injury.

Esther Tafertshofer, 68, drove her 2001 Dodge Caravan west across the northbound lanes of Highway 101, about 1.5 miles north of Highway 154, about 8:15 Sunday night, according to information from the California Highway Patrol and the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Tafertshofer's vehicle collided with a northbound 2006 Toyota driven by Eric Songer, 48, of Santa Maria.

Tafertshofer then headed south in the northbound lanes for about half a mile, until she collided head-on with a northbound 2001 Chrysler minivan driven by Molly Gilmore, 21, of San Lorenzo, the CHP said. Ann Gilmore, 54, of San Lorenzo was a passenger in the minivan.

The Caravan then struck a northbound 1995 Lexus driven by Heather Georgii, 35, of Grover Beach, who had swerved into another lane to try to avoid the crash in front of her. Katie Knarr, 21, of Grover Beach was the passenger in the Lexus.

Ann Gilmore suffered major injuries in the collision, while Molly Gilmore suffered minor injuries and Tafertshofer suffered moderate injuries. All three were taken to Marian Medical Center.

The other three people involved in the crashes suffered minor injuries and were not immediately taken to a hospital.

Tafertshofer was being held at Santa Barbara County Jail, with bail set at $100,000.

Advertisement

“She was arrested for DUI, and I think that's probably going to be ... the main cause of the accident,” said CHP Officer Kurt Schmidt.

March 27, 2007