Officials ID man who died after car plunged 300 feet off steep highway

Los Angeles County coroner officials identified the 25-year-old La Mirada man whose car plunged 300 feet off a steep highway in Angeles National Forest.

The man, Andrew Searcy, was found dead inside the crumpled car by county sheriff’s deputies about 8:15 a.m. Monday off Angeles Forest Highway near Mt. Gleason Road. He had been reported missing on Sunday.

An autopsy was pending, Assistant Chief L.A. County Coroner Ed Winter said.

Sheriff’s deputies from Norwalk used a helicopter to trace his route and found the crashed vehicle. Rescuers who were lowered down to the crash site confirmed his death.

An investigation into the cause of the crash remained ongoing, California Highway Patrol Officer Christian Cracraft said Monday.

While the cause had yet to be determined, sheriff’s Lt. Angela Shepherd at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station, which responded to the crash site, said officers at the scene “[are] saying it was an accident.”

The site of the accident is approximately 14 miles north from where the highway splits off from Angeles Crest Highway.

-- Jason Wells and Daniel Siegal, Times Community News

Twitter: @JasonBretWells