Orinda Man Dies After Jeep Falls 700 Feet Down Embankment

One man was killed and four others were injured early Saturday when a Jeep tumbled down about 700 feet in the Williams Hill Recreation Area in southern Monterey County, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Andrew Kruep, 24, of Orinda, died in the crash when the 2010 Jeep plummeted from a road off of Lockwood-San Ardo Road in the remote recreation area, CHP Officer Michael Rigby said.

A preliminary investigation determined that the dirt road that the five men were traveling on gave way, sending the Jeep an estimated 700 feet down an embankment in the darkness of night, Rigby said.

The CHP logged the call about the crash at 1:40 a.m. Saturday and rescuers needed to lower themselves by rope to reach the injured men, all of whom were ejected from the Jeep, he said.

“It was very steep terrain and it was difficult,” Rigby said.

The rescue operation in the isolated area took around eight hours to complete, he said.

Three of the men were seriously injured with head trauma and all four survivors were transported to a hospital, according to Rigby. Kruep, who died at the crash scene, is believed to have been the driver, but the incident remains under investigation and CHP officers do not know whether drugs or alcohol played a role, he said.

The recreation area, owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, is between the unincorporated county areas of Lockwood and San Ardo and about four miles west of U.S. Highway 101.

--Bay City News