3 dead after car plunges off Highway 9 cliff near Saratoga in Santa Cruz Mountains

Three people died after their car went off cliff on Highway 9 in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Monday night, authorities said.

The crash was first reported around 9:30 p.m. near Redwood Gulch Road, about 5 miles west of Saratoga.

The California Highway Patrol's San Jose office said a 2024 BMW M3 was traveling eastbound on SR-9 when the driver, a 21-year-old man from Yuba City, lost control of the car, sending it off the road and about 300 feet down an embankment.

The driver and the two passengers in the vehicle, a 27-year-old man from Salem, Oregon, and a 17-year-old boy from San Jose, all died in the crash.

Highway 9 was closed in both directions for about three hours as police recovered the vehicle and processed the scene. The crash remainec under investigation.