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Videos: San Diego FFs rescue man from SUV that plunged off cliff, dangled on rocks over sea

It was “sheer luck the car landed where it was,” said Battalion Chief Dave Seneviratne

lajollarescuejan23.jpg

Screen grab/San Diego Police Department

By Don Sweeney
The Charlotte Observer

SAN DIEGO — An SUV plunged off a La Jolla cliff, coming to rest on rocks dangling over the ocean below, California authorities reported.

The San Diego Police Department reported at 7:06 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, on Twitter that a rescue operation closed Coast Boulevard.

A video with the post showed a white Cadillac Escalade hanging off the edge of rocks above the surf while firefighters worked to rescue someone inside.

https://twitter.com/SanDiegoPD/status/1614459015345606658

Although police referred to a collision, firefighters told KFMB the SUV drove off the cliff in a torrential rainstorm. Emergency crews responded to the crash at 5:30 p.m.

The SUV landed on the rocks below with the front wheels hanging over the ocean, KSWB reported.

“Sheer luck the car landed where it was,” Battalion Chief Dave Seneviratne told the station.

Firefighters secured the vehicle with ropes and worked to extricate a man inside, KFMB reported.

The man was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, police said.

“Very crazy scene,” onlooker Tyler Mitchell told KSWB.

La Jolla is a neighborhood in San Diego.

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