Three people were killed Friday when a car plunged off a cliff into the ocean near Devil’s Slide on California’s famed Highway 1.
Police received a call about a single-vehicle accident just before noon that day, and police, firefighters and other emergency personnel were mobilized to assist with the cliff rescue. According to SFGate.
The vehicle, a gray two-door sedan, went off the south side of the road and fell about 300 feet down an embankment between Pacifica and Montara, according to a California Highway Patrol spokesman and a news release.
Authorities closed the road for several hours before rescuers arrived lowering ropes to the vehicle, which was lying on its roof with seawater lapping around the wreckage.
“It was a recovery mission, steep cliffs and tough terrain.” Cal Fire officials told Fox 2 KTVU. “The car was partially submerged and rescuers were working against the waves.”
The impact was so violent that pieces of the vehicle were sent flying from the wreckage.
Rescue crews who arrived on the scene quickly confirmed that both occupants of the vehicle were dead.
But the high tide forced them to halt rescue efforts, which included lowering heavy machinery from the cliff to allow rescuers to dismantle the car and retrieve the body, police said.
A third person was found dead inside the vehicle on Saturday, the media reported.
Police have not released the identity of the victim and the investigation remains ongoing, the Highway Patrol said.
