Fatal Mendocino cliff crash may have been intentional, CHP says
Spring celebration with Easter Parade on Union Street
MENDOCINO — The cliffside plunge that killed a Washington state family riding in a sport utility vehicle may have been intentional, California Highway Patrol officials said Sunday night.
Information pulled from the SUV’s software shows the vehicle was stopped at a flat, dirt pull-off area before it accelerated straight off the cliff, said Capt. Greg Baarts with the CHP Northern Division. Baarts said the electronic information combined with the lack of skid marks or signs the driver braked led authorities to believe it was intentional.
Authorities don’t know exactly when the wreck took place. A passing motorist discovered the wreck last Monday, three days after social service authorities opened an investigation apparently prompted by a neighbor’s complaint that the children were being deprived of food.
Five members of the Hart family were found dead. The search continued for three more children believed to have been in the vehicle when it went over a scenic coastal
overlook and landed on rocks in the Pacific Ocean below. The missing children may have been washed out to sea, authorities say.
“This specific location is very difficult to search because the ocean currents and tides are strong, it’s unpredictable, and the murkiness of the water makes it difficult to see,” said Capt. Greg Van Patten, a spokesman for the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office. “We can’t get divers into that area.”
Known as the Hart Tribe, the multiracial family of two married women — Sarah and Jennifer Hart — and six adopted children took spontaneous road trips to camp and hike and traveled to festivals and other events, offering hugs and promoting unity.
Authorities believe at least one felony was committed but Van Patten declined to specify.
Well before the wreck, Sarah Hart pleaded guilty in 2011 to a domestic assault charge in Douglas County, Minn., telling authorities “she let her anger get out of control” while spanking her 6-year-old adoptive daughter, court records show.
The two women, both 38, were found dead inside the SUV, while three of their children — Markis Hart, 19, Jeremiah Hart, 14, and Abigail Hart, 14 — were discovered outside the vehicle. Searchers were looking for Hannah Hart, 16, Sierra Hart, 12; and Devonte Hart.
Devonte drew national attention after the black youngster was photographed in tears, hugging a white police officer during a 2014 protest in Portland, Ore., over the deadly police shooting of a black man in Ferguson, Mo. Devonte was holding a “Free Hugs” sign.
Two weeks ago, Bruce and Dana DeKalb, next-door neighbors of the Harts, called state child protective services because Devonte, now 15, had been coming over to their house almost every day for a week, asking for food. Mother Nature cooperated with partly sunny skies and spring-like warmth during the 27th annual Union Street Easter Parade and Spring Celebration in San Francisco on Sunday. Children lined up to take a photo with the Easter Bunny, above, at the event featuring family-focused activities such as an Easter bonnet contest, kids rides and games, a petting zoo, and booths offering fare from Union Street restaurants. A small parade began at 2 p.m. on Union Street between Gough and Fillmore streets.