One Killed in Crash Near La Honda

UPDATED 4:00 p.m.: One person was killed late this morning when a vehicle carrying contractors for a local open space district went off a dirt road near La Honda and tumbled into a canyon, according to the district and the California Highway Patrol.

The crash was reported at 11:22 a.m. in the general area of Alpine and Mindego Hill roads.

CHP Officer Kevin Bartlett said it appears the vehicle, which was possibly an SUV, may have been carrying six to eight people.

Three have died, and the others suffered injuries ranging from serious to minor, he said.

Rescue crews are having trouble reaching the crash site, which is only accessible by foot and horseback, he said.

"We're going in slow motion because it's so hard to get to everyone," Bartlett said. At least two medical helicopters have been dispatched to the area.

The people who were in the vehicle are contractors who were out spraying non-native plants for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, district spokesman Gordon Baillie said.

Baillie said he did not yet have much information on the crash.

"It's in a remote area of the Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve," he said.

Crews were still at the scene trying to help the victims as of 1:45 p.m.

-- Bay City News Service