Driver plunges 500 feet off cliff and gets wedged against broken tree, CA cops say
A driver was rescued after falling more than 500 feet down a cliff on a California mountain road, a sheriff’s office said.
After falling from a Mount Tamalpais road on Friday, April 28, the driver’s car ended up “wedged against” a broken tree, which prevented it from falling farther, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
Three U.S. Air Force airmen saw the car drive off the cliff and “made their way down the ravine,” the sheriff’s office said. They tried to help the driver and worked with a dispatcher before first responders arrived.
Multiple agencies, including the sheriff’s office and California Highway Patrol, responded to the rescue, deputies said.
Shortly after arriving, a Marin County fire captain rappelled down the cliff, located the driver in the car and “began life saving measures,” the sheriff’s office said.
A paramedic from the sheriff’s office was also lowered to the car with a 200-foot rope, deputies said.
After those on scene got “extrication equipment,” the sheriff’s office said the driver was removed from the car and placed on a rescue stretcher.
The driver, who was seriously injured, was flown by helicopter to an awaiting ambulance and subsequently flown to a trauma center, deputies said.
Mount Tamalpais is about 20 miles northwest of San Francisco.
This story was originally published May 1, 2023 at 1:29 PM with the headline "Driver plunges 500 feet off cliff and gets wedged against broken tree, CA cops say."
