Man Rescued After Crashing Off 200-Foot Calif. Cliff
July 13--A man was seriously injured Thursday evening when his car fell about 200 feet off a cliff but, like a cat, landed right side up.
Firefighters hiked down into Limekiln Canyon, just north of the 118 freeway and west of the 405, to reach the man after the call came in at 6:54 p.m.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Matt Spence said the man was in serious but stable condition.
His name and condition weren't available Friday morning, but Spence said the man was about 70. The car went off a cliff near Rinaldi Street between Corbin and Tampa avenues, near the northern edge of the San Fernando Valley.
It was unclear what caused the crash, and a police report wasn't available Friday morning.
Spence said the rescue was a litter basket operation, which generally entails some firefighters hiking down into the canyon while others stay above, hang a basket by a rope from the end of a truck's aerial ladder, and then lower it to their colleagues.
The firefighters on the canyon floor tended to the patient and put him in the litter basket, which was hoisted back up.
It was 7:51 p.m., nearly an hour after the crash, when he was taken to the hospital. That's an indication of the delicacy of such a rescue, Spence said, adding, "We're very careful."
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