2 Women Killed After Car Crashed Through Gate and Plunged into Northern California Harbor
Monterey County Sheriff's Office Scene at Moss Landing Harbor
Two women have died after their car crashed through a gate and a fence before plunging into a harbor in Monterey County, California, over the weekend.
A vehicle was found submerged in Moss Landing Harbor on Saturday afternoon, prompting an investigation from California Highway Patrol, the Monterey Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Facebook Monday.
The car, a 2010 Acura, was spotted upside down around 2:40 p.m. after the tide had receded; beforehand, the car had been completely under water.
First responders were able to remove the driver and the passenger from the vehicle, and both were pronounced dead on the scene.
The county coroner later identified the driver as Maria Vanessa Carrango, 35, and the passenger as Esther Monique Espinoza, 28, the Monterey Herald reported Monday.
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CHP said that the car likely drove into the harbor on Friday or earlier on Saturday after driving westbound toward Highway 1 on Dolan Road, according to the Herald. It went straight through a fence and a gate before plummeting into the harbor, the outlet reported.
Divers with the Sheriff's office searched the surrounding area and determined that there were no other victims.
The investigation, led by the CHP, is ongoing.
