Devil’s Slide Accident Today

It’s been a tough year for the Devil’s Slide. For years the road has been a nightmare for motorists. There have been dozens of accidents, many of which have resulted in fatalities. In the last two months alone, one car has plunged off a cliff and another man has fallen more than 50 feet to his death. Both incidents are the latest in a long list of deadly occurrences at the popular location.

During the rainy season, rockslides are common. And they often happen along Highway 1. One of the more dangerous sections of the highway is known as the Devil’s Slide. Since 1936, people have been driving along the cliffside, where the road hugs the edge of a rocky promontory. The slippery rock is sometimes so treacherous that motorists have had to take hairpin turns.

On Wednesday, a man went off the cliff at the Devil’s Slide near Pacifica. After a dramatic rescue, the driver was flown to a hospital. Several crews from San Mateo and Pacifica fire departments worked to free the driver. The vehicle, a blue Hyundai Tiburon, was found about 500 feet off the cliff and smashed into the ground.

While it is not clear why the driver fell off the cliff, he may have been traveling at an unsafe speed. No one else was in the car, but his injuries were severe. Cal Fire CZU tweeted more information after the lane reopened.

Two years ago, a 23-year-old man left his home in Moss Beach and headed to a construction job in Pacifica. He was a recent college graduate, and the Devil’s Slide road was the only way to get there. As he approached the area, a deer crossed the road in front of him. Dan Moss swerved to avoid the animal, but he was over the edge in a split second.

A few months later, another man died after a car plunged off the cliff in the same spot. Richard Moss was 22 and driving a blue Hyundai Tiburon when he lost control. His car crashed off a cliff and fell 500 feet to the sea. But he was never seen again.

In 2013, two state-of-the-art tunnels were built to bypass the infamous stretch of Highway 1. These tunnels were designed to make the roadway safer. Though the number of accidents that occur in the tunnels is higher than the statewide average, the tunnels have helped the roads to be a little bit safer.

Another road-related incident happened on Monday. At around 9 a.m., witnesses reported a car careening off the cliff in the vicinity of the Devil’s Slide. The California Highway Patrol confirmed that the driver was involved in the accident, but that no other vehicles were spotted on the beach. The car was recovered from the beach and a helicopter was called in to fly the driver to a local hospital.

In the past eleven years, at least nine people have died in a traffic accident at the Devil’s Slide. This is one of the most dangerous places in California.