BODEGA BAY, California (AP) – Dozens of people on a popular Northern California coast watched as an SUV drove through a parking lot without braking and then plunged off a cliff into the rocks below, killing two women, researchers said Monday.
The cause of the weekend crash was still under investigation, said California Highway Patrol Officer David de Rutte. Early witness statements indicated that the vehicle passed through a wooden barrier in a large parking lot on Bodega Bay’s Head Trail before going off the cliff.
“Witnesses saw the vehicle driving across the parking lot – and it just kept driving,” said Rutte. It didn’t stop. There was no acceleration, but no braking either. “
Investigators were still trying to determine whether the crash was accidental or intentional, he said.
Both women were found dead when rescue workers reached the Toyota SUV, which had landed on the rocks about 30 meters lower on the roof.
Authorities identified the driver as Maria Teixeira, 64, and the passenger as Elizabeth Correia, 41, both from Dublin City in the San Francisco Bay Area, approximately 100 miles south of the crash site.
The Mercury News reported they were mother and daughter, both employees of Bay Area public schools, according to family members and sheriff officials. Teixeira was chief custodian at Montevideo Elementary in nearby San Ramon, and Correia was a first-class teacher at Lydiksen Elementary in Pleasanton.
Erin Aitken, a teacher and former colleague of Teixeira, struggled like many who knew her to understand the crash.
“She was just a warm, good person, she was so smiling and happy. She helped everyone, ”Aitken said, recalling how proud Teixeira was when her daughter became a teacher. She was a big cheerleader to her kids. And she clearly loved being around children. “
Correia’s biography on the school’s website said she had been teaching in Pleasanton since 2005, where she grew up.
“She loves teaching, reading, music, art, movies, Disneyland and spending time with friends and family,” the website says.
The crash happened on Saturday when hikers and beachgoers flocked to the scenic view of the Pacific Ocean to take advantage of the clear weather over Easter weekend.