At 5:42 p.m. on May 24th, 2018, the California Highway Patrol received a call from a female motorist. She reportedly had been in involved in an accident and had gone over the side of a cliff. The caller indicated that the fog was extremely thick and she could not tell how far off the roadway she was. The location originally reported was somewhere between Highway 138 and Lake Gregory Drive on Highway 18.
After about 20 minutes of searching as well as pinging her cell phone, emergency crews were able to locate a disturbance in the dirt on the shoulder of Highway 18 indicating where the car had left the roadway. They then saw the vehicle and began deploying equipment for the rescue. A San Bernardino County Fire official at the scene stated that the vehicle was approximately 600 feet down. GPS data has been analyzed as of 5/27/18. The vehicle went down a vertical drop of 413 feet. The distance from the roadway was exactly 570 feet. (This reporter is impressed with that engineer’s ability to ascertain the distance by eye to within 30 feet through the fog and dim lighting conditions.)
Photos copyright MountainReporter.com 2018, photos may not be used without written permission.
Emergency workers rappelled down the side of the cliff to the vehicle and were able to extricate her from the wreckage. The terrain was steep with thick brush and debris from fires in previous years. Coupled with loose rocks, heavy fog and the setting sun, the conditions for rescue were difficult. Three rescuers carried the basket down while workers above payed out a 500 foot rope, then tied on an additional rope to reach the scene. Once the woman was secured in the rescue basket, the 3 rescuers and the crews on the roadway began the climb back up.
At approximately 8 p.m. she came up over the side in the rescue basket. She was transported to a local area hospital.
The location on Highway 18 was approximately two miles east of the Crestline bridge near call box 192. This is just a few yards east of the landmark in the Narrows known as Cemetery Turnout. This turn out has a history of tragic accidents.
The full extent of her injuries is unknown at this time but officials at the scene stated she suffered back injuries.
Great reporting Ray! Wonderful photos Bryan! This lady was so lucky she did not get knocked unconscious while tumbling dth. Her ability to call 911 perhaps saved her life. Kudos to SB County Fire Fighters!
Great reporting Ray! Wonderful photos Bryan! This lady was so lucky she did not get knocked unconscious while tumbling dth. Her ability to call 911 perhaps saved her life. Kudos to SB County Fire Fighters! The fog up here is no joke. Please people, if you are not used to driving in thick fog, don’t drive up here until it has cleared up.
God hand was over her. Just for her to live to tell the story on what happened, then for her to get to her phone after the car tumble down the side of the mountain. Wow this is Called Cemetary Turnout .Some would say with a name like this, the county would do something to fix this deadly turnout where people don’t drive off the side of the mountain in the fog. It is said this has a history of tragic accidents.. Wow how many people have to die before they fix this ?
Yes, a turnout with a tragic history. Thankfully, years ago, Caltrans in fact did fix it by installing that k-rail, the concrete barrier, to prevent anyone else from going over. This was after the original red rock/chain barriers either deteriorated or got crashed through by vehicles.
Thank you to our ???? Fighters.
Great reporting and pictures Ray and crew. And a miracle her phone worked, where mine seldom does, and that she lived through all of that! AND TO OUR HEROES, ALL of the rescuers!
The Mountain Reporter (Ray) is the best thing to happen on this mountain in many moons. Awesome reporting!!!!
Praise God, he was watching over you!