A driver was stranded for two days at the bottom of a 400-foot cliff in California’s Big Sur after barreling over the edge, according to police.
The California Highway Patrol’s Coastal Division Air Operations Unit conducted an aerial search on Tuesday for the man, an employee at the luxurious Post Ranch resort, after Pacific Grove police reported he never returned home after leaving work around 11:30 p.m. Sunday night, CHP said.
A CHP airplane that was already in the area responded and, after scouring the coastline for about 20 minutes, spotted a vehicle on a beach below Highway 1 roughly 400 feet below the road around 9 a.m.
“A solo male was standing next to the vehicle frantically waving a makeshift flag,” CHP said.
The Big Sur fire chief roped down to the victim and began to assess his injuries as they waited for a chopper to arrive.
The driver said that while heading home Sunday night, he swerved to avoid hitting some deer that caused him to go off the highway, tumbling several hundred feet down the edge of the cliff.
As the car was rolling, he said he was ejected through the sunroof.
There is no beach access or trails where the car came to a rest and the car was not visible from the roadway, CHP said. It was impossible for him to climb back up.
Dramatic video released by the agency shows the man and vehicle in the brush at the bottom of the sheer precipice as responders hoisted the victim and the Big Sur Fire Chief from the crash site.
He was taken to Natividad Medical Center in stable condition and treated for only moderate injuries despite being stranded for nearly two days.
