Vehicle Plunges Off Mount Diablo Summit Early Thursday Morning, Driver Hospitalized

MOUNT DIABLO – The driver of a vehicle that was located near the Mt. Diablo summit was rushed to the hospital early Thursday morning.

At approximately 10:55 pm Wednesday night, firefighters were dispatched to a report of a vehicle off the roadway somewhere on Mount Diablo near the summit. The caller said they were at a campsite, drove to the summit parking lot, and drove over the edge because they were “being stabbed by Satan.”

Firefighters responded up the mountain and requested law enforcement also respond due to the nature of the call. Rangers with California State Parks advised they were unavailable to respond. Thirteen firefighters responded and staged midway up the mountain until several deputies from the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office responded.

For about an hour, responders canvased the area of the summit searching for the vehicle. Additional calls to the driver’s cell phone either went unanswered or provided evidence the driver was in an altered mental state.

Several minutes after midnight, a Sheriff’s Office drone operator spotted the vehicle off the road on the north side of the summit. Deputies made contact with the driver near the vehicle about 1/4 mile from the summit. The driver was rushed to the hospital by paramedics.

Officers with the California Highway Patrol later arrived to take a collision report and coordinate recovery of the vehicle. It’s unknown if State Parks law enforcement ever arrived at the scene.