A father and son from Rancho Cordova, California are grateful to be alive after living through a car wreck you’d normally only see in Hollywood movies.
Fifty-one-year-old Scott Anderson was driving on a twisty, steep mountain highway in Mariposa County when he lost control of the car. He and his 11-year-old son were terrified as the car rolled several times before careening over a cliff and falling 500 feet.
The car came to rest in thick brush, so far from the roadway that it’s unlikely anyone would have ever spotted it. That’s when the first of many “miracles” that happened!
First, a member of Cal Fire returning from a call happened to notice something awry on the highway. The observant firefighter was driving through driving rain and sleet, yet he still noticed a road marker was down. He pulled over to find out why, and that’s when he saw the glint of metal hundreds of feet below, in the canyon.
“The Cal Fire employee noticed signs of possibly a traffic accident or this delineator down,” stated Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese. “Their brave actions and their skills were able to find this vehicle.”
“The area that this car went off is an extremely steep canyon and it’s an extremely rural area of the county,” the sheriff continued.
Multiple rescue teams responded to the scene. Working in driving rain and on steep terrain, rescuers hiked to the car and then carefully carried the victims, who were moderately injured, up the mountainside. It took about four hours to complete the mission.
“The miracles were on top of many miracles, from being spotted to the quick response,” Sheriff Briese said, “Definitely, somebody was looking out for them.”
The sheriff’s department later shared photos of the dramatic rescue on Facebook, writing, “A Miracle. A keen-eyed fire fighter. The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team. All those combined saved the life of a father and son traveling through Mariposa County today.
While it certainly wasn’t lucky that they had such a scary accident, it sure seems like the stars aligned to get them the help they needed. Thank goodness for tough rescue teams like this one!
Share this story to wish this father and son a speedy recovery.
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