Man survives 200-foot crash after driving SUV off Sonoma Coast cliff

A 59-year-old man survived after driving his SUV off a 200-foot cliff on the Sonoma Coast on Sunday north of Jenner.

The driver, who is not from Sonoma County, sustained moderate injuries after careening off Highway 1 and down onto Driftwood Beach, about a half mile north of River’s End restaurant.

The man’s blue Ford Edge came to rest upside down in a crumpled heap about 12:50 p.m., and first responders were surprised to find the man had pulled himself from the wreckage. The crash did not appear to be an accident, they said.

“When we got there, he was walking along the beach,” Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman said, adding that the man was wobbly and combative with first responders.

Baxman said the man had a cut on his head and apparent seatbelt marks, and he added that the man could have also suffered internal injuries due to the nature of the crash.

A California Highway Patrol helicopter took the man to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Baxman said.

Along with the Monte Rio Fire Department, an ambulance from Sonoma County Fire Station No. 9 in Guerneville, State Park rangers, the California Highway Patrol, its helicopter and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, Henry 1, all responded to the scene Sunday afternoon.

The coast highway from Jenner to Fort Ross is notorious for suicide attempts, and Baxman said there at least a couple every year.

“It’s sad,” he said. “Just think about it.”

You can reach Staff Writer Tyler Silvy at 707-526-8667 or tyler.silvy@pressdemocrat.com.