CHP Investigates Crash Off Coastal Sonoma Cliff

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — California Highway Patrol is investigating whether a car was intentionally driven off a coastal Sonoma County cliff Saturday, leaving the driver, a 56-year-old Southern California woman, critically injured. The incident happened at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday when the woman, a Yucca Valley resident, drove a Chrysler Town & Country minivan through a parking lot on state Highway 1 near Coleman Valley Road north of Bodega Bay, left the roadway and landed approximately 100 feet down a cliff, stopping 5 feet from the water line, CHP Spokesman Jonathan Sloat said in a news release Monday.

Personnel from California State Parks and Bodega Bay Fire responded to assist CHP in rescuing the woman from the car, Sloat said.

A dog was also in the car and was rescued, according to reports from the scene Saturday.

A CHP helicopter was used to fly the woman to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

"She is in critical condition with major, life-threatening injuries," Sloat said. "Officers are investigating whether this was an intentional act and the driver's name is not being released."

RELATED STORY: Woman Rescued After Car Falls Off Sonoma Cliff

Image via Google Maps