One dead after vehicle goes off Highway 1 at Hurricane Point in Big Sur.

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team assisted Big Sur Fire and California Highway Patrol with recovery operations after a vehicle went off Highway 1 at Hurricane Point, a coastal viewpoint area 1.5 miles south of Bixby Bridge in Big Sur.

Monterey County emergency dispatchers received multiple 911 calls at approximately 4:22pm on Tuesday, Feb. 10 reporting that a vehicle had gone off the roadway and was believed to have entered the water. Responding personnel located the vehicle more than 500 feet below on the rocks. During the operation, rescuers located one occupant who was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The vehicle was a van, according to Big Sur Fire Chief Matt Harris, and ended up on the beach about 700-800 feet below the cliff. A Big Sur Fire rescue technician was lowered with a member of the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team to recover the individual and assess the scene. 

“It was a huge volunteer effort,” Harris says, noting that members of the Big Sur Fire Brigade are highly trained volunteers, alongside the volunteer staff with the Search and Rescue Team. “I want to thank the other agencies for their continued partnership. Everybody worked really well together, all the work we’ve been doing to bridge these gaps came together last night.”

Hurricane Point is not an uncommon place for vehicles to go off the road, Harris adds. The team responds to vehicles that go off cliffs about 10 times per year, although this was the first such response in a while. 

Hurricane Point is the area's highest cliff and sees more incidents due to the curve in the road.

“The weather was extreme at Hurricane Point,” Harris adds. “The National Weather Service does a very good job at predicting the weather, but there are certain geographic features and microclimates up and down the coast, and Hurricane Point is named that way for a reason. There had to have been gusts up to 60 to 70 mph.”

Recovery efforts continued until 8:45pm on Tuesday. The individual was transferred to the Monterey County Sheriff's Coroner’s Office for identification and to notify next-of-kin. Only one person is thought to be involved, according to Harris. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

An advisory from the National Weather Service had forecasted winds with gusts up to 50 mph on Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning, with a chance of lightning, gusty winds and small hail.

“Weather conditions made recovery efforts extremely challenging,” Sheriff Tina Nieto said in a press statement. “Strong winds required our Search and Rescue personnel to take additional safety precautions throughout the operation. We extend our condolences to the victim’s family during this difficult time.”