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Orange County firefighters pull a man out of the water after a boating accident in Dana Point. (Photo: Dana Point Times)

Boating accident: A 46-year-old man died and three others were rescued Sunday night after a boat went out of control and ran aground in high surf and gale force winds at Strand Beach off Dana Point.

•   Despite gale warnings and dangerously high surf, four people took a 30-foot cabin cruiser out on the ocean off Dana Point.

•   The boat went out of control and all four people — none of whom were wearing life jackets — were thrown overboard.

•   Coast Guard and Fire Authority helicopters were able to rescued three of them, but the fourth — who was pulled up from the rocks to the chopper by a firefighter on a cable  – was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The accident was reported at 6:12 p.m., according to the Dana Point Times.

Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol Sergeant David Ginther said four people, including 46-year-old  Orange resident Mark Benet, went out in a 30-foot Bayliner Ciera in bad weather conditions.

A gale force wind warning had been in effect all afternoon, with winds howling at 25 to 30 mph, Harbor Patrol Deputy William Nelson told the Orange County Register.  The surf was dangerously high, with waves as high as 9 to 10 feet.

It appears that the boat went out of control after some kelp got caught in the propellers.

“The reports indicate the props were tangled, and one of the passengers went overboard to clear them,” Ginther said. “They were able to partially clear the props, and regain control of the ship temporarily, only to lose control again.”

The person who went underwater to clear the propellers reportedly came back aboard the boat. At some point, however, the boat went out of control again and all four persons aboard were tossed into the ocean as the high swells washed the boat ashore.

Rescue divers found themselves in danger because of the high surf, so a helicopter rescue became necessary.

A U.S. Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Los Angeles rescued one man and two women who had been thrown overboard, but Benet was not with them.

Lifeguards from U.S. Ocean Safety and Laguna Beach found Benet at a rock outcropping adjacent to the beach, Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) Captain Greg McKeown said.

An OCFA helicopter then lowered a firefighter on a cable to the outcropping. He pulled Benet up to the helicopter in a rescue basket (see top photo). Paramedics pulled the basket into the chopper, treated Benet and flew him to Mission Hospital Laguna Beach, where he was pronounced dead at 8:23 p.m.

None of the boaters was wearing a life jacket, the Coast Guard reported.

Coast Guard statistics show that more than 500 people die in boating accidents each year — 90 percent of them were not wearing life jackets.

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented boating accidentvictims for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

An SUV ran off Highway 156 and slammed into two cyclists, killing one. (Video shots: NBC News)

One cyclist died and another suffered major injuries Tuesday afternoon after they were hit by a runaway SUV that veered off of Highway 156 and onto a bicycle path in Rancho Pe?asquitos, about 20 miles north of downtown San Diego.

•   An SUV was traveling at the speed limit on Highway 156 when the driver tried to change lanes and lost control of the vehicle.

•   The SUV veered right off of the freeway, plowed through a chain link fence onto a bike path, and slammed into two cyclists from behind. The SUV rolled over and landed on its side.

•   Once cyclist died at the scene. The other suffered major injuries and was hospitalized.

The fatal bicycle accident occurred at about 6:20 p.m., according to a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

California Highway Patrol officer John Tyler said the SUV was traveling eastbound on Highway 156 between Camino Del Sur and Black Mountain Road when the accident happened.

The driver, a woman whose identity was not released, was trying to move from the Number 2 lane to the Number 1 lane when she lost control of the vehicle.

The SUV veered to the right, went up a small grassy embankment, and then plowed through a fence and onto the bike path, Tyler said (see photo of run-over fence at left). The SUV hit two eastbound cyclists from behind and then rolled over and landed on its side.

Both of the cyclists were men believed to be in their mid-30s, Tyler said. Their identities were not disclosed. One of them died at the scene. The other suffered major injuries.

The SUV driver also suffered injuries, but details about her condition were not known. There was a male passenger in the SUV, but his condition also was not known.

Several pedestrians and cyclists stop to try to offer assistance and stayed until paramedics arrived, Tyler said. The injured cyclist and the SUV driver were taken to Scripps La Jolla Hospital to be treated.

People who regularly use the Rancho Pe?asquitos path were upset by the accident, NBC News reported.

“I always wondered what this fence would do if a car came 60 miles per hour,” cyclist Julie Adams told NBC. ”Obviously nothing.”

Cyclist Tom Hillebrecht, who witnessed the deadly accident, told Channel 10 News the crash frightened him.

“To see a car come all the way from the freeway, up an embankment, flip over … and see a couple of bikes laid out over there… I mean, it’s pretty darn scary,” Hillebrecht said.

The CHP is investigating why the SUV driver lost control. Tyler said the SUV was traveling at the freeway speed limit when it crashed through the fence. Officials don’t yet know if drugs or alcohol were factors.

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have been representing bicycle accident victims for 35 years.  The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.