One man was killed and three other people were seriously injured Thursday in a single-vehicle rollover on southbound Highway 101 between the Highway 166 offramp and the Santa Maria Speedway, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The accident, involving a Chevrolet pickup carrying off-road vehicles, occurred about 12:30 p.m., and shut down the freeway for several hours.

The driver of the vehicle, Jesse A. Hope, 19, of Norwalk, was arrested on suspicion of felony drunken driving and vehicular manslaughter, and booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail Thursday afternoon, according to CHP Officer Joe Vega.(The CHP originally incorrectly gave out the driver's name as Jesse Bonilla.)

Hope suffered moderate injuries in the crash, according to the CHP.

Killed in the accident was Chadrick T. Miller, 20, of Fountain Valley, the CHP said.

Cydney L. Bonilla, 20, of San Clemente suffered moderate injuries, and Robert A. Chamberlain, 20, of Huntington Beach suffered major injuries, the CHP said. Chamberlain and Bonilla were transported to Marian Medical Center.

The nursing supervisor at Marian reported both to be in stable condition Thursday night.

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Some of the injured had to be extricated from the wreckage of the truck, according to authorities. All the occupants of the truck were wearing seatbelts and none was ejected from the vehicle, the CHP reported.

Wreckage was strewn across the roadway and both southbound lanes were closed, backing up southbound traffic as far north as beyond Tefft Street in Nipomo.

Hope was driving southbound in the fast lane of Highway 101 north of Highway 166, traveling about 75 mph, when he lost control of the vehicle and it veered into the median, the CHP said. The truck then swerved back across the fast lane, back into the median and rolled approximately three times, coming to a stop across the southbound lanes.

An unconfirmed report described a Chrysler PT Cruiser making an unsafe lane change, which caused Hope to swerve, the CHP said.

August 22, 2008