More than two dozen LA County firefighters came to the rescue of an unidentified man Tuesday morning after his vehicle plummeted nearly 250 feet off the side of a road at one of the highest points in the Angeles National Forest.
CLICK on the video above to watch the dramatic rescue.
Rescue workers descended on the mangled sedan, which had come to rest in a clump of brush in a snowy ravine. They worked quickly, extracting the lone driver in about half an hour.
The injured man was strapped to a stretcher, wrapped like a mummy and then tethered to a cord beneath a hovering helicopter. A rescue worker clung to the stretcher and the rope as they were buffeted by the wind force of the chopper while being lifted from the ground.
The injured driver was then airlifted to a nearby hospital.
The man, who was conscious during the rescue, was listed in moderate condition at that time, according to the Antelope Valley California Highway Patrol.
LA County firefighters were dispatched at 7:35 a.m. after a call came in reporting that a man had an accident and his car had veered off the road, according to a fire department spokesman.
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California Highway Patrol arrived on the scene to find the man in his vehicle off mile marker 10.37, according to Gil Hernandez, spokesman for the Antelope Valley CHP.
Mile marker 10.37 is at the peak of Mount Gleason, one of the highest points at the Angeles National Forest, 4 to 5 miles south of Aliso Canyon, Hernandez said.
The area is known to be dangerous to drivers during bad weather conditions, with the roads becoming v slick when cold and wet, he said.
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