Man who died in fatal Hwy. 1 crash off Big Sur cliff identified

The person who died in a fatal crash near Big Sur on Tuesday night has been identified.

The driver was Aaron Jacob Carbajal, 28 of Salinas, according to Monterey County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Andres Rosas. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle.

Around 4:20 p.m. Tuesday night, multiple agencies responded to a report of a vehicle that veered off of a cliff on Highway 1 near Hurricane Point, north of Big Sur.

Rainy and windy weather conditions were complicating response efforts at the time.

Responders located the vehicle on the rocks just before the shoreline, about 750 feet off the roadway, according to CHP spokesperson Luis Lugo, who also confirmed the fatality.

This story was originally published February 11, 2026 at 3:43 PM.

Sadie Dittenber

The Tribune

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Sadie Dittenber writes about education for The Tribune and is a California Local News Fellow through the UC Berkeley School of Journalism. Dittenber graduated from The College of Idaho with a degree in international political economy.