CNN
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Two adults and two kids someway escaped severe accidents after their Tesla plunged off a cliff alongside California’s Pacific Coast Highway and crashed on a rocky seaside some 250 feet beneath.
The incident occurred Monday morning at an space known as Devil’s Slide, some 20 miles south of San Francisco.
“We were very shocked” to find that individuals within the automotive had survived the crash, said Brian Pottenger, battalion chief with Cal Fire’s Coastside Fire Protection District.
“Accidents on that cliff are not rare. We do respond to a lot of vehicles on that cliff,” he advised CNN. “What’s rare is that we do not get a lot of survivors – surviving this type of accident is very rare.”
Pottenger mentioned the automotive contained an grownup male, an grownup feminine, a 9-year-old boy and a 4-year-old woman. The kids had been each secured in automotive seats, which remained intact and in place, he mentioned.
Officials mentioned the four-door, white Tesla sedan was touring southbound on Highway 1, simply south of the Tom Lantos Tunnel between Pacifica and Montara, when it veered off the roadway. They didn’t cite a purpose for the crash.
A spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol advised CNN they don’t consider any of the Tesla’s self-driving options had been lively on the time.
“The damage to the vehicle would indicate that it hit, and then flipped several times,” Pottenger mentioned. The automotive got here to relaxation on its wheels, he added.
Firefighters rappelled down the cliff to the automotive whereas different first responders watched by binoculars.
“As we were doing that, we were able to notice movement in the front seat through the windshield,” Pottenger mentioned. “So we knew that we had at least one person that was alive.”
The automotive’s occupants had been trapped contained in the mangled automobile, officers mentioned. All 4 had been aware when the fireplace division reached them, Pottenger advised CNN.
Crews freed the 2 kids and used a rope to elevate them up the cliff in baskets. Later a California Highway Patrol helicopter hoisted the 2 adults to security.
The California Highway Patrol posted dramatic video of the helicopter reducing a rescuer on a cable to the crash website whereas surf crashed towards the rocks beneath.
The San Mateo Sheriff’s Office said Monday that the 2 adults suffered “non-life threatening injuries” and the 2 kids had been “unharmed.”
The automotive’s occupants had been transported to Stanford Medical Center for remedy, Pottenger mentioned. An replace on their circumstances was not obtainable Tuesday.
Officials haven’t launched the identities of the 4 survivors or mentioned whether or not all 4 had been from the identical household.
The CHP is investigating and can decide the reason for the crash, Pottenger mentioned.
“This was a traumatic accident, and they survived,” he mentioned. “And it was a good outcome to a very bad situation.”