Driver dead after vehicle plunges over 200-foot cliff along Highway 1 near Devil's Slide

A driver died after his vehicle plunged over a cliff along Highway 1 on the San Francisco Peninsula coast between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay Thursday.

The vehicle drove off the roadway just south of Gray Whale Cove State Beach in Montara, plummeting 200 feet, said Cal Fire's San Mateo/Santa Cruz unit. Cal Fire reported the incident just after 1 p.m.

Multiple agencies were at the scene of the crash. A CHP helicopter lowered a person onto the rocks where the vehicle ended up and other first responders rappelled down the cliff from the roadway.

Traffic along Highway 1 was impacted as one-way traffic control was in place during the response to the crash. The CHP later confirmed that the crash was fatal.

Cal Fire spokesperson Cecile Juliette said the driver was the only person in the car. It's not known what caused the car to go down the embankment.

All lanes of Highway 1 reopened shortly before 5 p.m. according to CHP.