A vehicle plunged 500 feet off a cliff and into the ocean while traveling on Highway 1 along the Big Sur coast, officials said.
Emergency crews were called at approximately 4:20 p.m. on Tuesday for a report that a car had gone off the roadway at Hurricane Point, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Authorities found the car over the cliff and on the rocks, where one person was pronounced dead. The driver was identified as Aaron Jacob Carbajal, a 28-year-old man from Salinas, KSBW reported.
The California Highway Patrol is still investigating the cause of the crash. However, officials pointed to the rough weather, which the sheriff’s office said made recovering the body “extremely challenging.” On the day of the crash, there were powerful winds along the Big Sur coast, with gusts up to 40 to 50 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service. The coastline also saw a small amount of rain on Tuesday afternoon.
Over the years, multiple vehicles have driven off cliffs along the scenic, narrow and winding stretch of road. In April 2022, a man drove off a cliff north of Ragged Point on Highway 1. And last year, another driver fell 400 feet down a cliff near McWay Falls on the highway.