Mom, daughter die after car drives off California cliff

David Matthews

A mother and daughter died in Northern California over the weekend when their car fell 70 feet from a cliff.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Elizabeth Correia, 41, an elementary school teacher, and 64-year-old Maria Teixeira, were killed Saturday when their car, a silver Toyota Rav4, entered the parking lot near a hiking trail in Bodega Bay, about 65 miles north of San Francisco.

However, the car, driven by Teixeira, did not slow down or stop, even after hitting a log barrier near the cliff’s edge and continued over the edge until the car plummeted down. Both women were pronounced dead at the scene.

Bodega Bay firefighters work to secure the scene of a crash after a vehicle plummeted from the Bodega Head parking lot in Bodega Bay, Calif., through a wood barrier, left, landing upside down 100 feet to the rocky shoreline, killing two people in the SUV, Saturday, April 3.
Bodega Bay firefighters work to secure the scene of a crash after a vehicle plummeted from the Bodega Head parking lot in Bodega Bay, Calif., through a wood barrier, left, landing upside down 100 feet to the rocky shoreline, killing two people in the SUV, Saturday, April 3.


Bodega Bay firefighters work to secure the scene of a crash after a vehicle plummeted from the Bodega Head parking lot in Bodega Bay, Calif., through a wood barrier, left, landing upside down 100 feet to the rocky shoreline, killing two people in the SUV, Saturday, April 3. (Kent Porter/)

A report by the California Highway Patrol said witnesses did not think Teixeira was speeding or driving erratically before the car fell.

CHP said autopsies will be performed to determine if there is a health-related cause of the crash. The vehicle is also being checked for any malfunctions and defects.

Both women lived in Dublin, Calif., the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.

“Our thoughts are with the families,” the Bodega Volunteer Fire Department said on Facebook.

A long line from Sonoma County Sheriff's helicopter Henry 1 is used to safely transport rescue personnel to a beach below after a vehicle plummeted from the Bodega Head parking lot in Bodega Bay, Calif., landing upside down 100 feet below, killing two people in the SUV, Saturday, April 3.
A long line from Sonoma County Sheriff's helicopter Henry 1 is used to safely transport rescue personnel to a beach below after a vehicle plummeted from the Bodega Head parking lot in Bodega Bay, Calif., landing upside down 100 feet below, killing two people in the SUV, Saturday, April 3.


A long line from Sonoma County Sheriff's helicopter Henry 1 is used to safely transport rescue personnel to a beach below after a vehicle plummeted from the Bodega Head parking lot in Bodega Bay, Calif., landing upside down 100 feet below, killing two people in the SUV, Saturday, April 3. (Kent Porter/)

The victims’ son and brother mourned them on Facebook, People reported.

“It’s with [a] heavy heart that I share my mom, Maria Teixeira and my sister, Elizabeth Correia, both passed away yesterday after being involved in a single car crash in Bodega Bay,” Tim Correia reportedly wrote in a since-locked Facebook post. “There is a hole in my heart that will never be filled now. I’m so grateful for them and the time we shared. They will forever be part of me. I love you mom and sis.”

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