POINT MUGU : Woman Killed When Car Plunges Into Sea

An 80-year-old woman died Sunday after she lost control of her car while driving on Pacific Coast Highway near Point Mugu and plunged off a 50-foot embankment and into the ocean, where the car landed upside down and quickly sank, authorities said.

Patricia Van de Water of Long Beach was driving north at about 60 m.p.h. on a stretch of windy coastal highway about half a mile south of Deer Creek Road when she lost control of her car, crossed over the southbound lane and left the road, authorities said.

An autopsy was pending to determine the cause of death, a deputy coroner said.

No other motorists were involved in the 11:45 a.m. accident, said Simon Cavazos, a ranger with the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

“Witnesses said that she spun out of control and went over the embankment,” Cavazos said. “Once the car hit the water, it sank almost immediately. The car was pretty badly mangled.”

State parks divers tried to rescue the woman but could not free her from the wreckage, Cavazos said.

Her death is one of a handful of fatal accidents to occur along that stretch of road this year. Since 1989, more than 20 people have died in accidents on Pacific Coast Highway between the Ventura/Los Angeles County line and Oxnard.

In response, a consortium of federal, state and county agencies began a driver safety campaign in March. Known as COAST--Concentrate on a Safe Trip--the $280,000 campaign is using billboard, radio, television and print advertisements to get drivers to be more careful while traveling the scenic, ocean-side route.