A 79-year-old man died in Montara, California, after driving his car over a cliff with a 200-foot drop near Grey Whale Cove State Beach along U.S. Highway 1.
He went over the cliff at around 12:30 p.m. Thursday, the California Highway Patrol told San Francisco ABC affiliate KGO-TV.
Firefighters from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection descended the cliff, and a CHP helicopter lowered another person down to the rocks where the car landed.
Cars on the highway were limited to one-lane traffic control.
The driver, the only occupant of the car, was airlifted but ultimately was pronounced dead, CHP told KGO-TV. Neither law enforcement nor state fire officials named the deceased.
Cal Fire spokeswoman Cecile Juliette told CBS affiliate KPIX-TV that it’s not known what caused the car to go over the cliff.
All lanes on Highway 1 were open by 5 p.m., CHP told KPIX.