The crash occurred on Monday morning at an space referred to as Devil’s Slide, some 32 kilometres south of San Francisco.
“We were very shocked” to find that these within the automobile had survived the crash, stated Brian Pottenger, battalion chief with Cal Fire’s Coastside Fire Protection District.
Pottenger stated the automobile contained an grownup male, an grownup feminine, a nine-year-old boy and a four-year-old woman.
The youngsters had been each secured in automobile seats, which remained intact and in place, he stated.
“Accidents on that cliff are not rare. We do respond to a lot of vehicles on that cliff,” he informed CNN.
“What’s rare is that we do not get a lot of survivors – surviving this type of accident is very rare.”
Officials stated 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 informed 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 stated.
The automobile got here to relaxation on its wheels, he added.
Firefighters rappelled down the cliff to the automobile 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 stated.
“So we knew that we had at least one person that was alive.”
The automobile’s occupants had been trapped contained in the mangled automobile, officers stated.
All 4 had been acutely aware when the fireplace division reached them, Pottenger informed CNN.
Crews freed the 2 youngsters and used a rope to carry 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 stated on Monday that the 2 adults suffered “non-life threatening injuries” and the 2 youngsters had been “unharmed”.
The automobile’s occupants had been transported to Stanford Medical Center for therapy, Pottenger stated.
An replace on their situations was not obtainable on Tuesday.
Officials haven’t launched the identities of the 4 survivors or stated whether or not all 4 had been from the identical household.
The CHP is investigating and can decide the reason for the crash, Pottenger stated.
“This was a traumatic accident, and they survived,” he stated.
“And it was a good outcome to a very bad situation.”
It appears like the kind of place you’d whack in your journey bucket record
