Moment teen illegally jumps off Sunset Cliffs in San Diego — before everything goes horribly wrong

A famous spot in San Diego known for illegal cliff diving caught its latest victim this past weekend, with a 17-year-old boy’s horrifying leap caught on video.

The clip shows the teen making a running start before leaping off Sunset Cliffs into the ocean as a crowd of onlookers take out their phones to record the stunt.

But instead of a smooth dive, he slams onto the edge of the rocks before flipping into the water.

Authorities said he was eventually rescued from the water and taken to a hospital.

The call came in at Saturday 4:27 p.m., San Diego Fire-Rescue Public Information Officer Candace Hadley told NBC 7, and he was transported at 5:16 p.m.

It’s unclear how serious his injuries were.

Cliff-jumping is illegal under city municipal code, which prohibits jumping or diving into the Pacific Ocean or Mission Bay from any natural or human-made point connected to land that is more than five feet above the water.

“We want locals and visitors to enjoy San Diego’s coastline safely. Please stay back from cliff edges, follow all posted warnings and never jump from cliffs or other elevated areas into the water,” Officer Hadley said.

Despite the law and frequent warnings, the spot near Sunset Cliffs Boulevard has been a longtime favorite for locals and visitors to do cliff diving. People frequently jump from an arch that extends there, even though there are signs that threaten fines and arrests.

Just this past April, a section of the bluff near the arch at Sunset Cliffs broke off, raising concerns from geologist and local safety experts.

“This is not a place for people who have never jumped,” Point Loma resident Rae-Kwon Goldsmith told CBS8.

“If you are an intermediate level to an expert level ok this is the perfect place for you to be jumping but if you are beginner this is not a place for you to be jumping.

“If you know you’re jumping at this type of height and you’re jumping on these cliffs you should know the risk that is associated with doing such,” added Goldsmith.

People have died jumping at the spot, including a 15-year-old boy who was underwater for nearly a hour in 2019.

According to one report, there’s been an average of five deaths and injuries annually at Sunset Cliffs between 2005 and 2017.

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