Ventura County Star
LOS ANGELES — Two Los Angeles County teens narrowly escaped serious injury this week when the car they were riding in plunged several hundred feet down a steep canyon near Calabasas, authorities said.
Jake Lee Alger, 18, of Palmdale was driving on Stunt Road near Mulholland Highway about 7:25 p.m. Monday in an unincorporated area between Calabasas and Malibu. His car went off the roadway and several hundred feet down a steep embankment to a plateau, said Officer Leland Tang, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol’s West Valley office.
Alger and his passenger, David Djouzaie, 18, of Encino, were airlifted out of the canyon and taken by ambulance to UCLA Medical Center for treatment, Tang said. Alger suffered minor to moderate cuts, and Djouzaie had a bruised eye and a complaint of pain.
Both were wearing seat belts, and the car’s air bags deployed.
“These two are extremely lucky,” Tang said.
The Associated Press reported that Alger apparently swerved to avoid an animal, but Tang said the cause of the solo crash remains unclear. “The only thing we can suggest and theorize is that it would be unsafe speed and turning movement,” said the officer.
Copyright 2010 Ventura County Star