2 Rescued Hours After SUV Tumbles Down Cliff Off Mulholland Drive
SHERMAN OAKS (CBSLA.com) – A man and woman were hoisted to safety several hours after their SUV plunged over a cliff in Sherman Oaks Thursday morning.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the 21-year-old man and 25-year-old woman were discovered before 7:35 a.m. next to a burned out SUV about 50 feet down the side of a cliff in the 13300 block of West Mulholland Drive. The victims had non-life-threatening injuries, LAFD reported. It appears the driver flew off the road and plunged into the canyon.
It was unclear exactly when the crash had occurred. LAFD officials told CBS2 that crews initially responded to a call of smoke in the area about 2:30 a.m. However, firefighters did not locate the wreckage until several hours later. The man and woman had been thrown clear of the vehicle.
Fire personnel conducted a rope operation to reach the patients and bring them up the cliff a little after 9 a.m. They were taken to a hospital with undisclosed injuries.
"I would say that they are very fortunate," an LAFD battalion chief at the scene said.
Traffic on Mulholland Drive was affected during the rescue.
The names of the victims and the exact circumstances of the crash are under investigation.
