One Dead After Car Goes Off Cliff Along Highway 1 in Coastal San Mateo County

Traffic was disrupted in both directions of Highway 1 north of Half Moon Bay Thursday afternoon, as a car went over a cliff shortly before 1 pm, and the driver of that car has been pronounced dead.

A 12:40 pm traffic accident on the winding coastal Highway 1 in San Mateo has taken at least one life, as NBC Bay Area reports one person is dead after their car flew off a cliff early Thursday afternoon. It’s currently unclear if there was more than one person in the car, and what exactly caused the accident.

The CAL FIRE San Mateo - Santa Cruz Unit first notified the public shortly after 1 pm Thursday that “There is a vehicle over the cliff at Gray Whale Cove State Beach in Montara.” That report merely noted that “Highway 1 will be impacted.”

Some 20 minutes later, that organization noted that a “vehicle accident” would impact traffic in both directions, which KTVU reported was limiting the two-lane highway to one-lane traffic. According to NBC Bay Area, the driver of the car that went over the cliff was pronounced dead at 1:45 pm Thursday.

Firefighters were able to reach the vehicle, and a CHP copter lowered one rescue team member to the car by 2:20 pm. CAL Fire said at that time that “Multiple agencies are on scene.”

The most recent update we’ve since heard from CAL Fire is that both lanes of Highway 1 were expected to reopen by 3:30 pm. It’s currently unclear whether both of those lanes have since reopened.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Related: Man Rescued After Driving Car Off Big Sur Cliff and Getting Stranded For Two Days [SFist]

Image: @CALFIRECZU via Twitter