Ignoring warnings that he “will most likely die,” a bicyclist tried in useless to cross a stretch of Freeway 1 in Huge Sur that was buried beneath a landslide — and promptly plummeted down the sheer rock and grime face, in keeping with the California Freeway Patrol.
Cody Mortensen, 28 of Lucerne Valley, suffered a number of accidents however survived, CHP spokesperson Saul Perez mentioned in a information launch.
That picturesque part of Freeway 1 is infamous for frequent rock slides and land motion, which have induced a number of closures since January 2023. A number of sections have reopened after cautious repairs, however one of many largest slides, generally known as Regent’s Slide, continues to overwhelm the two-lane roadway, blocking all site visitors by the realm.
Friday morning, Mortensen blew previous street closure indicators earlier than encountering a building employee, Perez mentioned. The crew member defined that the street was closed resulting from a rock slide.
The employee informed Mortensen that “the street is just not satisfactory, and if he tried to cross he’ll most likely die,” in keeping with Perez. “Mortensen mentioned he was going to strive in any case.”
About an hour later, a state park ranger visiting the landslide space noticed a backpack and bloody arm about 100 toes beneath the slide, and requested a search and rescue crew.
The rescue crews discovered Mortensen on the seaside, the place he’d been capable of climb all the way down to from the steep incline, officers mentioned. First responders handled him for a reduce on his arm and potential head trauma earlier than he was airlifted to a hospital.
Mortensen will face site visitors citations for failing to obey site visitors indicators and failing to obey an individual directing site visitors, Perez mentioned.
“He additionally endangered the lives of rescue personnel who needed to traverse an lively slide,” Perez mentioned. “Highway closures are put in place for the security of the general public in addition to for the crews working.”
Repairs on Regent’s Slide are scheduled to be accomplished in late fall, in keeping with Kevin Drabinski, a California Division of Transportation spokesperson, and the street will probably be closed till then.
In March, the slide despatched an estimated 300,000 cubic yards of grime, rock and different particles over the roadway throughout a few of the season’s intense atmospheric river storms.
“The restore at Regent’s Slide is difficult partly as a result of the slide begins some 450 [feet] above the roadway and due to the steepness of the slope,” Drabinski mentioned. It additionally “entails a top-down elimination of slide materials.”
“Crews are repeatedly monitoring and adjusting their strategy primarily based on website situations,” he mentioned. “The slide materials that falls naturally or is pushed from above not solely covers the roadway, however continues all the way down to the seaside and ocean beneath.”
When Regent’s Slide is repaired, Freeway 1 will probably be cleared for an uninterrupted seaside journey between Cambria and Carmel — one thing that hasn’t been potential since January 2023.