California fire agencies rescue adults via helicopter after Tesla plunges off cliff
California Highway Patrol helicopters assisted in the rescue and extrication of two adults (Credit: California Highway Patrol - Golden Gate Division Air Operations / LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)
Newly released video from northern California authorities shows the dramatic moment a helicopter crew worked to extricate and rescue people who had plunged about 250 feet off a cliff along Highway 1 on Monday.
The California Highway Patrol's Golden Gate Division Air Operations wrote in a Facebook post the same day that CHP H-30 had responded with multiple agencies – including the Coast Guard and the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office – to a report of a "vehicle over the cliff" at Devil's Slide.
"As first responders arrived at the scene, it was determined that two adults and two children were trapped in a Tesla," it said. "While H-30 responded, firefighters rappelled to the scene and rescued the two children."
Meanwhile, an El Cerrito Fire helicopter rescue technician was lowered to the scene and assisted in the extrication and rescue of two adults amid rainy and windy conditions.
CALIFORNIA CAR CRASH: TESLA PLUNGES 250 FEET OFF AT 'DEVIL'S SLIDE'
CHP H-30 lowered a El Cerrito Fire Helicopter Rescue Technician (HRT) to the scene who assisted in the extrication and rescue of two adults. (Credit: California Highway Patrol - Golden Gate Division Air Operations / LOCAL NEWS X /TMX )
Rescuers were forced to cut the victims out of the car using the so-called "jaws of life" tools and the kids were pulled out of the back window.
The adults were hoisted from the water's edge and transferred to a waiting Stanford Life Flight helicopter.
The adults suffered traumatic injuries and the two children – a 4-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy – were rushed to the hospital by ambulance with musculoskeletal injuries.
A firefighter stands on the edge of the helicopter surveilling the scene of the California Tesla crash (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 whether the four occupants were members of the same family.
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The Tesla sedan had flipped several times as it fell, crashing into a rocky outcropping and landing on its wheels just feet from the surf.
Officials did not immediately release the cause of the crash, although Devil's Slide is known for fatal wrecks.
The 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 over the cliff and they never live. This was an absolute miracle," Brian Pottenger, a battalion chief for Coastside Fire Protection District/Cal Fire, said.
Officer Mark Andrew said that CHP does not believe, based on its initial investigation, that the Tesla was operating in Autopilot or Full Self-Driving mode at the time.
The road’s conditions were also not believed to be a factor in the crash and there was no guardrail at the spot where the vehicle went off the cliff.
Witnesses dialed 911 at around 10:15 a.m. PT, with firefighters who responded noticing movement.
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"Every one of us was shocked when we saw movement out of the front windshield," Pottenger said.
CHP San Francisco will be investigating the incident.
Fox News' Paul Best and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
