#CA teacher, mother killed after SUV plunges over cliff

A California elementary school teacher and her mother died over the weekend after their SUV plunged over a coastal cliff along the Pacific Ocean, a report said.

Elizabeth Correia, 41, and her mother, 64-year-old Maria Teixeira, were inside a Toyota Rav4 on Saturday when it hit a log barrier in a parking lot at the Bodega Head Trail in Bodega Bay and fell nearly 100 feet onto a rocky beach, KPIX reported, citing authorities.

Correia, a first-grade teacher at Lydiksen Elementary School, and her mother, a lead custodian at Montevideo Elementary, died at the scene, the report said.

Investigators are working to determine why the SUV drove over the cliff.

Witnesses told police the vehicle did not appear to be driving erratically or speeding, and rode over the edge without stopping after entering the parking lot, the report said.

Correia and Teixeira’s school communities mourned their losses.

“Our hearts go out to Elizabeth Correia’s family and our Lydiksen community,” Pleasanton Unified School District said in a statement to KPIX. “Elizabeth touched the lives of many of her students and colleagues.”

Montevideo Elementary Principal Katie Witt wrote a letter to the school community addressing Teixeira’s death.

Witt said Teixeira “was a wonderful part of our school community and was well-loved by staff, students and parents, alike,” according to the letter, which was obtained by the outlet.

“For years, Mrs. Maria was a fixture in our community. She could be found on our campus every day doing whatever needed to be done to serve the community,” the principal said.