Overview
- The crash was reported around 12:50 a.m. Thursday near Steamer Lane on West Cliff Drive when a vehicle went into the Pacific Ocean.
- First responders found one person who had exited the car and suffered minor injuries while Santa Cruz Fire rescue swimmers searched for a second occupant reported inside the submerged vehicle.
- Rescue crews removed the second person from the vehicle and took them to a nearby hospital where they later died.
- All five Santa Cruz Fire units responded along with three Central Fire District units, a Scotts Valley Fire battalion chief and the Santa Cruz Police Department, and the vehicle was later recovered.
- The cause of the crash is under active investigation, no identities have been released, and the incident highlights the hazards of cliffside roadways and the difficulty of nighttime ocean rescues for local responders.