A beloved Orange County chef was killed in a shocking crash in Dana Point, officials said — leaving behind a grieving family and a coastal dining scene he helped shape.

Rainer Schwarz, 59, the co-owner and executive chef behind Laguna Beach hotspots Driftwood Kitchen and The Deck on Laguna Beach, was pronounced dead at the scene Monday after his car veered off the road near Crown Valley Parkway around 4:50 p.m.

Authorities say Schwarz was driving an Audi along Crown Valley Parkway near Pacific Coast Highway when the vehicle suddenly left the roadway, tore through landscaping and came to rest in a parking lot, Orange County Sheriff’s spokesperson Sgt. Gerard McCann said Tuesday.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. It happened shortly after Schwarz left his restaurants Monday.

The Austrian-born chef began his culinary journey at just 15 years old before working at Switzerland’s Grand National Hotel in Lucerne, where he crossed paths with famed Chef Joachim Splichal prior to moving to Los Angeles.

Schwarz later made his mark in Colorado, opening multiple bistros and pubs in the Denver area, and went on to serve as executive chef at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood in 2009.

Back in Orange County, he became a fixture of the Laguna Beach dining scene, leading the kitchens at Driftwood Kitchen and The Deck while also crafting menus for Hendrix Restaurant and Bar in Laguna Niguel, which has since shuttered.

“Chef Rainer’s legacy lives on in every dish and every guest experience he shaped,” Driftwood Kitchen wrote in a statement on Instagram. “He believed deeply in hospitality as a way to bring people together. We are profoundly grateful for his lasting impact and will continue to honor his vision in all we do.”

Schwarz is survived by his wife, Tasha, and their son, Max.