Overview
- A passenger vehicle carrying four people went over the side of Angeles Crest Highway near mile marker 26-50 late Wednesday, plunging roughly 200 feet into the Angeles National Forest.
- Los Angeles County Fire Department search-and-rescue teams extricated three occupants who suffered minor injuries and confirmed one person dead at the scene.
- Crews briefly requested a helicopter airlift around 11 p.m. but later canceled it and completed the rescue using ground technical extrication methods.
- Both directions of Angeles Crest Highway were closed during the operation and traffic was diverted onto the nearby Angeles Forest Highway while responders worked.
- The California Highway Patrol is investigating the cause, officials noted a firefighter sustained a knee injury during the rescue, and the crash underscores the steep, hazardous terrain that complicates mountain-road recoveries.