California

Passengers Survive in ‘Miracle' After Car Falls Off California Cliff

The two children in the vehicle were unharmed while two adults suffered non-life-threatening injuries

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A Tesla with four occupants plunged over a cliff Monday on Highway 1 at Devils Slide in San Mateo County, according to the California Highway Patrol and Cal Fire.

At about 10:50 a.m. PST, authorities received reports of a Tesla that went off the roadway and down a cliff on southbound Highway 1 south of the Tom Lantos Tunnel, officials said.

Two adults and two juveniles were inside the vehicle when it plunged down a cliff at a distance estimated to be 250 feet, a Cal Fire official said.

The two juveniles were extricated by helicopter at about 12:20 p.m., and rescuers were still in the process of extricating the two adults, the CHP said.

All the victims were removed from the Tesla, officials said.

Later Monday afternoon, the San Mateo Sheriff's Office said the two children in a Tesla were unharmed. While the two adults suffered non-life-threatening injuries but were in critical condition earlier in the day.

Cal Fire said the fact the passengers survived was "nothing short of a miracle."

Witness Robin Johnson spoke to NBC Bay Area Monday about the incident.

"As I’m driving by, I’m like, ‘Wow, he's driving extremely fast to take that exit. You're not even supposed to be going up that way,” she said. "And I can see in my rear-view mirror this car that just go over the edge and straight down."

Johnson added she then called 911.

"At that point, we had our rescuers make contact. We found two adults and two juveniles in the vehicle, all alive,” she said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the vehicle to go off the roadway.

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