Man saved after being thrown from truck that flew off California cliff, video shows

A sheriff’s helicopter helped rescue a man who fell out of a pickup truck after it plunged off a coastal cliff along Highway 1 in Northern California, a video shows.

Deputies responded to an automatic notification of the crash near Jewell Gulch north of Jenner at around 8 a.m. Sunday, May 19, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

A California State Parks ranger spotted the white pickup truck wedged against a tree about 200 feet down a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, deputies said.

But two rescuers lowered by the sheriff’s helicopter could not find anyone inside the wrecked truck, the video shows.

After a 45-minute search by deputies, rangers and firefighters, the helicopter spotted dirt disturbed on a road about 300 feet below the crashed truck, deputies said.

They continued to search and spotted the driver in some brush below a tree another 50 feet from the road, deputies said.

The helicopter lowered a deputy and paramedic to the injured man, who had suffered critical injuries, deputies said.

A fire agency helicopter hoisted the man to safety and flew him to a hospital, where he’s expected to recover.

Jenner is about a 75-mile drive northwest of San Francisco.

This story was originally published May 20, 2024 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Man saved after being thrown from truck that flew off California cliff, video shows."