Highway 101 traffic at a standstill in SLO County due to rush hour crash

A two-vehicle collision on Highway 101 brought northbound traffic to a standstill on Thursday during rush hour, according to the California Highway Patrol.

One lane remained closed due to the collision, Caltrans’ QuickMap showed.

The crash, which involved a blue BMW sedan and grey Toyota Highlander, took place near Del Rio Road in Atascadero around 4:15 p.m. Thursday, according to the CHP traffic incident log.

While there were no reported injuries, the two-vehicle collision resulted in major damage to one of the cars, the CHP said.

At 4:30 p.m., the CHP reported that a towing company was on its way to remove the seriously damaged vehicle but was not expected to arrive for another hour.

As of 4:45 p.m., both northbound lanes of the highway had reopened but traffic was still crawling along the highway.