Support for LAist comes from
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Stay Connected
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Listen

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Two Survive Gnarly 400-Feet Crash Down Embankment In Angeles National Forest

With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today . 

Two people survived a rollover crash on Sunday after they plummeted 400 feet down an embankment in the Angeles National Forest.

Around 10 a.m., La Crescenta Sheriff's deputies spotted the car off the cliff along the Angeles Crest Highway and heard a girl screaming for help, the L.A. County Fire Department told City News Service. Rescue crews responded and found the teenage girl and the crumpled car, which was 400 feet below the highway near the 40-mile marker, KTLA reports. They airlifted her to the hospital. She has non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver was nowhere to be found because he had left the car before rescue crews arrived. Rescue teams and search dogs spent hours scouring the forest looking for him, but called off their search after they weren't able to find him.

It wasn't until Dolores Gillham, a photojournalist for CBS2/KCAL9 who was there at the time taking a selfie, heard a man yelling for help that she spotted the driver, CBS 2 reported. "I heard help and then I heard help again," Gillham said, "and then I went back to our news van and I said Nick you gotta come back with me out here, there’s somebody yelling for help." They alerted authorities about the situation and crews responded around 4 p.m.

Support for LAist comes from

La Crescenta Sheriff's Department identified the man as 20-year-old Daniel Barragan, who was also airlifted to a hospital, NBC Los Angeles reports. He suffered from a broken leg and other non-life-threatening injuries.

It's not clear what caused the crash, though the California Highway Patrol believes that the car veered off the Angeles Crest Highway between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m.

There was another crash along the Angeles Crest Highway near the 44-mile marker on Saturday. Rescue teams found a 23-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman about 20 feet below the highway, according to KPCC. The man suffered minor injuries and the woman had to be airlifted to a hospital because her injuries were moderate.

At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.

But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.

We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.

Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist