Family grapples with loss after Santa Cruz man, child killed in Pescadero cliff crash

PESCADERO, Calif. (KGO) -- A man from Santa Cruz County is one of two people dead after a crash on the San Mateo County coast. A possible third person still missing. The CHP says the driver of a pickup truck drove off a cliff into the ocean at Pescadero State Beach.

"I came out to see what's left, I found his shoe," said Elizabeth Anaya.

Anaya came to Pescadero Beach to mourn her older brother Ipolito Anaya from Freedom in Santa Cruz County. The CHP told her family that he was one of the victim's found inside a Toyota Tacoma truck after it crashed into the ocean Friday night around 8:45.

"He was going to turn 40 this year, he has three nieces, a mom, a dad, my sister. I'm just blank right now," said Anaya.

She feared the other victim found in the truck may be her brother's girlfriend's young daughter but the girlfriend is still missing.

"We received information about a third party may have been in the vehicle at the time of the crash, we're working with coast guard to locate third party," said Officer Art Montiel from the California Highway Patrol.

The Coast Guard says that search was called off Saturday morning, after a third person could not be located.

The CHP says the pickup truck ran a stop sign on Pescadero Creek Road, crossed Highway 1 and went into the water.

A broken post and torn landscaping marks the spot where the truck plunged 30 feet into the water. Neighbor Rob Talbot says it's a dangerous stretch of road.

"This is like the sixth or seventh time in my memory in the last 30-40 years that people on Pescadero Road, they think the road is going on expecting big signals, there aren't any," Talbot said.

The CHP says the crash is under investigation.

Elizabeth Anaya says she knew her brother Ipolito was in the area Friday barbecuing with friends but can't say why it ended in tragedy.

"I came here to find answers," said Anaya.