Car with body found

Car plunged over a cliff; CHP officer says hikers found motorist dead

A motorist is dead after his car plunged over a cliff and down a 400foot ravine in Castaic late Wednesday.

The incident happened a “couple of days ago” with no witnesses, Officer Josh Greengard of the California Highway Patrol said late Wednesday afternoon.

“Some hikers were down in the ravine and saw the vehicle,” he said. “They investigated and saw the body.”

The discovery was made at approximately 4 p.m., about one mile north of Lake Hughes Road on Ridge Route Road.

“This was a solo vehicle went over the embankment,” Greengard said.

“There was one dead at the scene,” he said, describing the deceased man as the “solo occupant” of a 2013 Jetta.

About 4:05 p.m., paramedics with the Los Angeles County Fire Department were dispatched to the remote stretch of Ridge Route Road, Fire Department spokeswoman Vanessa Lozano said.

“Paramedics found the person dead on arrival,” she said, noting firefighters estimated the drop to be about 400 feet.

At 5 p.m., paramedics were waiting for officials with the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner to arrive.

Getting to the crash site, however, proved a challenge for emergency response crews.

“They’re going to have a difficult time retrieving the vehicle,” Greengard said.

“They may not be able to get the vehicle out of there today,” he said, noting the body of the deceased man would be turned over to the coroner.

CHP officers are investigating the incident, Greengard said.

Dan Watson/The Signal Emergency response crews work to get a body out of a ravine on Wednesday. A California Highway Patrol officer said that hikers went down in the ravine and found a vehicle with a body inside. Officers confirmed that the motorist was pronounced dead on arrival.

Dan Watson/The Signal Firefighters work to retrieve a body that was found inside a vehicle on Wednesday.