Authorities are searching for a potential crash site after a dash camera appeared to capture an SUV plunging off a cliff along Highway 1 in San Mateo County earlier this week.
The footage surfaced after a witness reported seeing a vehicle speed over the side of the road at Gray Whale Cove around 11 a.m. Monday, according to the San Mateo County Fire Department.
Tire tracks were found at the edge of the highway, officials reported. Debris from a vehicle was also found in the ocean below, but officials could not confirm it was related to the incident.
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office released dashcam video to local news outlets that appears to show the moment the dark-colored SUV flew off the road.
In the video, the vehicle can be seen traveling on the shoulder near a turnout before driving over the cliff without slowing down. The SUV goes airborne and disappears from view.
“All it shows is the vehicle veering off the cliff,” CHP Officer Bert Diaz told the Mercury News. “There’s no before, and so at this point, we don’t have any information.”
Crews immediately began searching the area near the base of the cliff, including in water that is up to 40 feet deep, the newspaper reported.
But those efforts thus far have turned up nothing — no SUV and no driver.
The search effort had to be suspended due to the dangers posed by high surf in the area, according to the Mercury News. An advisory issued by the National Weather Service Bay Area is scheduled to expire at 9 p.m. Thursday.
Forecasters noted the potential for breaking waves of up to 25 feet in the region while the advisory is in effect.
