The top-seeded Breakers overcame the resignation of their coach and a choppy performance at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions to sprint into the final. Coach Rick McKee, father of senior Jessica McKee, resigned for personal reasons in mid-December. In Santa Barbara in January, Laguna Beach fell in the first round to Agoura, 10-9, in overtime and ended up 11th. But since the tournament, the Breakers have won 13 of 15 matches, including an 8-7 victory against Agoura in the third-place match at the Irvine Southern California Championships on Feb.3. "It was during the (Santa Barbara) tournament that we realized we needed to pull together," Jessica McKee said of the Breakers, now led by co-coaches Chad Beeler and Ethan Damato. McKee (96 goals), an attacker bound for Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., and rising sophomore center Annika Dries (68 goals), pace the Breakers' offense. UC Santa Barbara-bound center-defender Breanna Duplisea and improved goalie Celia Huling anchor the defense. Attacker Casey Flacks, a junior who made all-tournament in Irvine, leads second-seeded Agoura. Senior Carly Clark has scored eight goals in the past two rounds. Senior goalie Sara Gralitzer has averaged 16 saves during the same stretch. While Laguna Beach is making its first finals appearance since 2005, Agoura is making a third consecutive finals appearance. Agoura fell to Santa Barbara in the past two Division IV finals.
Its driver may have pressed the wrong pedal while pulling into a parking spot, causing the car to accelerate rapidly, pushing it over the sidewalk, through a fence and over the cliff, according to Pismo Beach police Cmdr. Jeff Norton.
Police would not release the deceased woman’s name pending notification of her next of kin. Police also would not release the man’s name, and did not return numerous phone messages by late Sunday seeking his identity.
Officials have also not said whether the accident victims were local residents, except that the gold Toyota Camry was registered in Bakersfield. Both were in their 70s, according to police.
As the car’s driver was being loaded into an ambulance, a server holding a restaurant bill holder raced out of Pelican Point asking for police, saying she may have information about the victims.
The server could not be interviewed. While a reporter tried to interview a Pelican Point employee outside, a woman appearing to be a restaurant manager ordered staff scattered around the scene not to talk to the media.
She also demanded, without success, that dozens of spectators who stayed for hours peering at the shoreline leave the scene.
Police arrived shortly after 1 p.m. and made their way down the cliff to perform first aid on the driver while waiting for County/Cal Fire rescuers.
An emergency crew shouted rescue maneuvers from the top of the cliff to rescuers who were lowered on harnesses and worked to extract the driver from the car.
Officials said they were not sure how many times the vehicle rolled when it plummeted over the cliff and landed on its wheels.
Passers-by and diners watched mainly from the Pelican Point patio as rescue teams from Cal Fire and Pismo Beach police pulled apart parts of the vehicle’s roof and doors to access the crash victims.
A number of Pelican Point patrons got up and ran outside the restaurant to see what had happened after what witnesses described as a "crash, crash, crash, thud."
"The driver had one hand out of the sunroof and the other out of the driver side window," one witness said. "You could see them moving, too."
As crews worked to access the victims, Norton said "they’re having a tough time getting the man out of the vehicle," referring to strong winds and high tide.
Rescue equipment remained scattered along the rocks among shards of glass when the driver was lifted onto a stretcher shortly before waves began crashing over the car.
Once he was harnessed, the man was pulled to the top of the cliff. A plastic covering protected his face as loose rocks tumbled onto the stretcher.
Meanwhile, other rescuers began preparing to tow the woman’s body up the cliff.
A San Luis Ambulance crew took the driver to Arroyo Grande Community Hospital to be treated for serious injuries. His condition could not be determined late Sunday.
A man who said he was the general manager of the nearby Best Western Shore Cliff Lodge said he did not know whether the crash victims were staying at the motel or dining at the restaurant.
