Dramatic footage shows search following California cliffside crash

A car plunged nearly 75-feet down a cliff along Pacific Coast Highway in Ventura County Sunday –– triggering a frantic nighttime search operation.

The California Highway Patrol and Ventura Communications Center received early morning calls about a car that had flown off the roadway on Pacific Coast Highway at Mugu Rock.

First responders quickly arrived at the scene and located a gray 2006 Honda Accord 75-feed down the cliff and onto the rocks along the shoreline.

Dramatic footage shared by the CHP shows a helicopter hovering over the water as it used a high-powered searchlight illuminate the dark shoreline before the sunrise. After a brief search, a heavy-duty tow truck pulled out the wrecked car that ran off the cliff.

The 37-year-old man from Oxnard, who was driving the car was still behind the wheel when emergency personnel carried out the rescue mission. Authorities said that the driver was “was alert, conscious, and communicating with emergency personnel.”

Investigators said that the driver approached Mugu Rock at a high speed and suddenly steered the vehicle to his right.

“For reasons that remain under investigation, the driver turned his vehicle to the right, traveled off the roadway, struck a rock before plummeting seventy-five feet off a cliff and onto the rocky shoreline,” CHP Ventura said in a social media post.

Firefighters rescued the driver from the vehicle and he sustained minor injuries. He was transported to a local hospital for medical attention.

The highway patrol has not reveal specifics of the crash. It it unknown at the moment if the driver was drunk or under the influence of drugs.

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