Man dies after car crashes, falls nearly 500 feet off Motorway 1 cliff

A 58-300 and sixty five days-aged man has died after his car fell nearly 500 feet off a Motorway 1 cliff attain Santa Cruz on Monday, Cal Fire officials said.

The rupture happened correct sooner than 1 p.m. attain Greyhound Rock Beach in Santa Cruz County, Cal Fire said. The person, who became once from Santa Rosa, became once driving a dim 2017 Honda Pilot south on Motorway 1 north of Scott Creek, when it became once clear that he, for reasons soundless below investigation, drove off the threshold of the toll road, struck a name field and went over the cliff, in response to Cal Fire.

The driver sustained major accidents on legend of the rupture and, regardless of lifestyles-saving efforts by two California Relate Parks lifeguards, became once pronounced uninteresting at the scene.

The person is believed to enjoy been the sole occupant of the Honda at the time of the rupture, and it stays below investigation by the CHP. It’s at the moment unknown whether alcohol or drugs played a feature in the rupture, Cal Fire said.

Anybody with potentially purposeful data regarding the rupture is requested to name CHP dispatch at 831-796-2160.

May 18, 2026|Updated May 19, 2026 8:00 a.m.

Jeff Carillo is an viewers editor at SFGATE. He spent over a decade taking part audiences through push signals at Bleacher Yarn, The Athletic, and others in sports actions media. He grew up in Hercules, is a Cal alum, and at the moment resides in Brentwood.