CARLSBAD, Calif. (KGTV)— A man who led Carlsbad police officers on a police pursuit and drove his car off a cliff Monday afternoon was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

At approximately 4:01 p.m., an officer with the Carlsbad Police Department witnessed a collision in which the driver crashed into the fence surrounding the city’s Fleet Maintenance Department in the 2400 block of Impala Drive, according to a statement sent by the police department. Police teams stopped traffic after the driver of the vehicle fled the scene.

The press release stated that officers initiated a police pursuit after the driver refused to stop, but that pursuit was canceled due to safety concerns on Palomar Airport Road west of Avenida Encinas.

After the pursuit ended, the release said, officers observed the vehicle accelerate at a high rate of speed before leaving the roadway, going over a cliff and landing on the beach in the 5500 block of Carlsbad Boulevard.

The driver suffered life-threatening injuries and officers immediately called for medical assistance and descended the cliff on foot to provide life-saving measures to the driver, according to the release.

Carlsbad Fire Department officials treated the driver at the scene and he was later taken to the hospital. The statement stated that the driver is expected to survive.

The department is investigating the cause of the collision, and initial findings indicate that drunk driving was not a factor in the crash.

The police department also encourages anyone who may have witnessed the collision to contact the department at 442-339-2115.