Video recently released by Northern California authorities shows the dramatic moment a helicopter crew worked to pull and rescue people who had plummeted about 250 feet off a cliff along Highway 1 on Monday. .
The California Highway Patrol’s Golden Gate Air Operations Division wrote in a Facebook post the same day that the CHP H-30 had responded with various agencies, including the Coast Guard and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, to a report of a “vehicle over the cliff”. in the Devil’s Slide.
“When first responders arrived on scene, it was determined that two adults and two children were trapped in a Tesla,” he said. “While the H-30 responded, firefighters rappelled down to the scene and rescued the two children.”
Meanwhile, a helicopter rescue technician from the El Cerrito Fire was lowered to the scene and assisted in the extraction and rescue of two adults amid rainy and windy conditions.
CAR ACCIDENT IN CALIFORNIA: TESLA SINKS 250 FEET ON ‘DEVIL’S SLIDE’
CHP H-30 lowered an El Cerrito Fire Helicopter Rescue Technician (HRT) to the scene who assisted in the extraction and rescue of two adults.
(Credit: California Highway Patrol – Golden Gate Division Air Operations / LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)
Rescuers were forced to remove the victims from the car with the so-called “jaws of life” tools and pull the children out of the rear window.
The adults were hoisted from the water’s edge and transferred to a waiting Stanford Life Flight helicopter.
The adults sustained traumatic injuries and the two children, a 4-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy, were taken to hospital by ambulance with musculoskeletal injuries.
A firefighter stands on the edge of the helicopter guarding the scene of the Tesla crash in California.
(Credit: California Highway Patrol – Golden Gate Division Air Operations / LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)
All four were conscious and alert when rescuers arrived. It was not immediately clear if the four occupants were members of the same family.
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The Tesla sedan had capsized several times as it fell, crashing into a rocky outcrop and landing on its wheels just feet from the waves.
Authorities did not immediately release the cause of the accident, although Devil’s Slide is known for fatal accidents.
Tesla sedan at the scene of the Northern California crash
(Credit: California Highway Patrol – Golden Gate Division Air Operations / LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)
“We go there all the time for cars to fall off the cliff and never survive. This was an absolute miracle,” said Brian Pottenger, battalion chief for the Coastside/Cal Fire Protection District.
Officer Mark Andrew said CHP does not believe, based on its initial investigation, that the Tesla was operating in autopilot or full self-driving mode at the time.
Road conditions were also not believed to be a factor in the accident and there was no guardrail at the location where the vehicle fell off the cliff.
Witnesses called 911 around 10:15 a.m. PT, and responding firefighters noted movement.
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“Every one of us was surprised when we saw movement on the front windshield,” Pottenger said.
CHP San Francisco will investigate the incident.
Paul Best of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
