Washington women fleeing Child Protective Services drive off cliff -- killing themselves and three kids

Two women fleeing Child Protective Services on the California coast drove off the side of a cliff killing themselves and three children, according to the California Highway Patrol. Three other children are missing.

The women domestic partners Jennifer Jean Hart, 39, who drove the GMC Yukon, and passenger Sarah Margaret Hart, 39. They were both from Washington State.

The names of the children, two boys and a girl, haven’t been released as investigators still are confirming their identities, according to local Newspaper the Press Democrat.

The event happened on winding Highway 1, near Juan Creek outside Mendocino.

According to the police, the vehicle landed upside down on a large rock. The children, who were not wearing seat belts, were thrown out as it tumbled down the hillside.

The Oregonian in Portland, near where the women lived, is reporting that there may be three other children involved who are now missing.

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A police helicopter circles the site where a car plunged off a cliff in California, killing at least five people/Courtesy of California Highway Patrol[/caption]

Neighbors in Woodland told Portland TV station KOIN 6 that they suspected the children were abused and that the family left quickly on Friday after CPS arrived and left because no one answered the door.