The solo-vehicle crash happened at about 2:25 a.m. just south of Pacifica near Devil's Slide, according to the CHP. Preliminary reports had indicated two vehicles were involved in the accident.
CHP Officer Herman Quon said the driver, an 18-year-old San Francisco man, was traveling north in a Lexus sport utility vehicle with four 18-year-old passengers when the vehicle approached a curve. The Lexus was traveling too fast to negotiate the curve, struck a wall and then plummeted between 120 and 130 feet off the side of the road, landing between two rocks, Quon said.
"If it didn't land between two rocks, it would have went down to the ocean," Quon said.
Rescue crews worked to bring the driver and passengers to safety.
The driver and the four passengers, two males and two females, suffered minor to moderate injuries, Quon said. Three of the passengers were from the Long Beach area and the fourth was from San Mateo County, he said.
The driver was treated at a local hospital and then booked into jail in Redwood City, according to Quon.
