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Man rescued after driving over 300-foot cliff

Firefighters and paramedics rappelled down the cliff side using a rope rescue system and found the victim in his car

San Mateo County Times

PACIFICA, Calif. — Emergency crews rushed a man to a trauma center Tuesday evening after he drove his car off a cliff in Pacifica, officials said.

The victim, who authorities say is about 50 years old, was driving his car about 3:45 p.m. when it went over a cliff in the area of Manor and Heathcliff drives, said Joe Perez, safety inspector for the North County Fire Authority. The car plunged about 300 over an embankment before coming to a rest in a ravine.

Firefighters and paramedics repelled down the cliff side using a rope rescue system and found the victim alone in his car, Perez said. Crews extricated the man and treated him for various injuries before a California Highway Patrol helicopter lowered their hoist to lift him into the air.

The helicopter took the man to a helispot at Oceana High School on Paloma Avenue, where an ambulance was waiting to take him to San Francisco General Hospital, officials said. His condition was not immediately known.

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