SAN BERNARDINO, CA – A woman was airlifted to a hospital on Tuesday after her vehicle plunged about 200 feet down a steep embankment along Highway 18, roughly 10 miles west of Big Bear Lake, California.
The Highway 18 crash happened around 9:45 a.m. in a winding mountain area between Big Bear and Running Springs. According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the car veered off the roadway and landed upside down. The female driver, who was the only occupant, sustained a head injury and was trapped inside the vehicle while witnesses were unable to reach her.
San Bernardino County Fire Department crews responded to perform a technical rope rescue, navigating steep and rocky terrain to provide immediate medical aid.
By around 11:40 a.m., rescuers successfully extricated the woman and brought her back up to the roadway. She was then transported by ambulance to Snow Valley, where a helicopter flew her to a nearby area hospital.
Authorities have not yet released her condition. During rescue operations, traffic on Highway 18 was reduced to one lane as firefighters directed vehicles past the scene.
