Driver Dies After Initially Surviving a 200-Foot Plunge Off Cliff Along California's Famed Highway 1
CAL FIRE San Mateo - Santa Cruz Unit
The driver of a car that careened 200 feet off a cliff along California's Highway 1 is dead after initially surviving the crash only to fall farther down the steep incline.
Firefighters battling the ongoing CZU Lightning Complex Fire were called near Gray Whale Cove in San Mateo County on Monday morning after receiving reports of a vehicle that had driven off a cliff, according to Cal Fire.
In photos shared on the department's Twitter, a gray sedan can be seen lodged in an outcropping overlooking a beach south of Devil's Slide, a rocky stretch along the iconic highway outside of San Francisco named to reflect its treacherous and deadly history.
Firefighters are at scene of a vehicle over the cliff off of Highway 1 near Gray Whale Cove south of Devils Slide in San Mateo County. Cliff rescue in progress. @NoCoFire @SMCSheriff @CHP_RedwoodCity pic.twitter.com/kAtEkqCwzj
— CAL FIRE CZU (@CALFIRECZU) August 31, 2020
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Witnesses told the California Highway Patrol that the female driver — who was the only occupant in the vehicle — got out of the vehicle following the crash, but fell further down the cliff toward the coastline, CBS SF reported.
The woman was found 150 feet down the cliff on the beach below after the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office launched a drone to look for her, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
#GrayWhaleIncident (Update) firefighter paramedics rescued one patient from the vehicle accident, taken by ambulance to local hospital in critical condition. pic.twitter.com/YN2ogHTz5Y
— CAL FIRE CZU (@CALFIRECZU) August 31, 2020
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The driver was transported to the San Francisco General Hospital in critical condition, where she later died of her injuries, California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Andrews told the outlet.
The driver has not yet publically been identified.
A spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol could not be immediately reached by PEOPLE.