Man dies after vehicle goes over cliffside near Devils Slide stretch of Highway 1
First responders at recovery effort for a vehicle over cliffside at Tom Lantos Tunnel/Hwy 1 in San Mateo County. Photo: Cal Fire CZU.
SAN MATEO COUNTY, Calif. - A man is dead after his vehicle went over the cliffside near the Tom Lantos Tunnels on Highway 1 on Wednesday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Witnesses reported seeing the incident at around 2:15 p.m. CHP is investigating after multiple agencies responded. One-way traffic traffic controls were in effect on Highway 1 for about five hours, officials reported.
Screen grab from video shared by Cal Fire CZU where a vehicle and body were found a few hundred feet below Tom Lantos Tunnel, Devils Slide.
Photo of recovery effort near Devils Slide along Hwy 1 in San Mateo County, courtesy Cal Fire CZU.
CHP reported the southbound direction lane in San Mateo County reopened shortly after 7 p.m. The route experienced continued delays into the evening as emergency personnel responded.
Cal Fire - San Mateo, Santa Cruz Unit updated the situation at around 4:30 p.m. to say recovery was underway at Devils Slide just south of the tunnel.
CHP said authorities found the car then used a drone to locate the driver, who had been ejected from the vehicle onto the beach 200 feet below. CHP said emergency personnel rappelled down the cliffside and determined the man had died.
When the roadway reopened, CHP said the recovery effort for the vehicle ceased for the evening, but was expected to resume the following morning.
Traffic could be seen from SkyFOX backing up at the tunnel's entrance in the southbound side of Highway 1.
Associated Press contributed to this story.