Photo: California HIghway Patrol Coastal Division Air Operation
A California man is lucky to be alive after he accidentally drove over a 400-foot cliff between Big Sur and Carmel. The California Highway Patrol Coastal Division Air Operations said that they received a request asking for help searching for a man who was reported missing on Tuesday (February 27).
The man left work on Sunday night but never made it back to his home.
The Coastal Division Air Operations rerouted an A-71 airplane that was in the area for a separate call and started searching the coastline from Post Ranch in Big Sur to Monastery Beach in Carmel.
About 20 minutes later, the plane located a car with a man frantically waving a make ship flag next to it on the beach about 400 feet below Highway 1. An H-70 helicopter was dispatched to rescue the man.
Rescuers rappelled down and hoisted the man back up into the helicopter.
The man told authorities he was driving along the highway when he swerved to avoid some deer and ended up driving over the cliff. He said that as his car plummeted toward the beach, he was ejected from the vehicle through the sunroof.
He was taken to the hospital for treatment and is recovering from moderate injuries.
You can watch the video of the dramatic rescue below.