Three soldiers are killed as their car plummets 400ft down Devil’s Slide in California

Three U.S. Army soldiers were killed Friday morning when their car plunged 400 feet (120 meters) off a dangerous cliff in San Francisco.

Brylyn Aroma, 36; Angelica Gacho, 28; and Mohammad Noory, 29, were driving on California’s Highway 1, known for its hairpin turns and sheer coastal cliffs, just after 11 a.m. Friday when the gray two-door sedan they were in plunged off a cliff dubbed Devil’s Slide.

Their vehicle came to a stop on the bank and was photographed upside down, but still visible in the water below.

Several California Highway Patrol officers, along with other law enforcement agencies and firefighters, rushed to the scene of the crash, while a CAL FIRE team rappelled down the side of the cliff to check on the occupants. ABC 7 reports.

Authorities initially found only two people in the car, who declared themselves dead at the scene.

Rescuers were subsequently able to find and recover two of the bodies, and a third was found on Saturday.

It was recovered after high tides created “extremely dangerous” conditions, highway patrol said. according to USA Today.

The car was removed from the water by a tow truck on Saturday morning.

It was apparently driven by Noory, of South San Francisco, who was working as an Uber driver at the time of the crash. according to NBC Bay Area.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation, while friends of Noory try to raise money for his family in Afghanistan.

The online fundraising says that before driving for Uber, Noory worked for the US military as an interpreter in Afghanistan.

For his services to the US, he was granted a special immigrant visa and in 2021 he emigrated in hopes of supporting his family.

However, friends of Noory say they do not know the other victims.

Still, the three had a bond, as Gacho was also a communications specialist for the U.S. military, according to her LinkedIn.

She shared snippets of her life on her Facebook page and announced in April that she was engaged.

“You are absolutely the highlight of my military career,” she wrote of her fiancé.

Aroma, meanwhile, was a medic in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas.

In March 2023, she was named ‘Dragon of the Week’ by the First Battalion of the 63rd Armored Regiment.

“She took the initiative to form a bridge between our soldiers and the Allied Forces,” the battalion was on the rise.

‘Her language skills and selfless dedication enhanced the organization’s capabilities during vehicle training and land navigation.’

It added that she was “critical in communicating with our allies, resulting in improved security and a better training block for everyone involved.”

Following the news of her sudden passing, friends and family expressed their grief en masse on Aroma’s Facebook page.

“I can’t stop crying when I think about you no longer being here at Fort Riley,” Joy Juliano wrote.

Aroma’s boyfriend, Vinny Hall, with whom she recently attended the Military Ball, said he was “devastated and sad.”

“You were my rock baby, my whole world. We had so much planned for our future,” Hall wrote, sharing photos of their time together.

“I will always love you so, so much. You will always be in my heart, forever and ever.”

Hall said on his own Facebook page that he is “really at a loss for words right now” and doesn’t know what to do.

Cheryll Lorca Gone also turned out to have known Aroma and Gacho and wrote that it was ‘so sad what happened’ [to] both of you!

‘What a tragedy that happened!!!’

So sad, guys. [are] away [at such a] ‘Young age and we will miss you both!!!’