Dramatic Video Shows Moment Woman is Rescued by Helicopter After Driving Over Bluff Into Ocean

An unnamed driver in California is recovering from a very close call with the Pacific Ocean.

On Friday, the woman was driving a Mercedes-Benz on the Pacific Coast Highway when her car suddenly veered from the road and went over a rocky bluff and into the ocean at around 1 p.m., authorities toldNBC News.

While the driver was able to get out of the vehicle on her own, Captain Brian McGrath of the Ventura County Fire Department tells PEOPLE that the driver was unable to climb to the top of the cliff where first responders were waiting.

She was “too injured” and it was “too steep and too rocky,” Captain McGrath adds.

The rescue helicopter — which was on the scene of the accident within 20 minutes — later transported the patient to Los Robles Regional Medical Center. She was conscious when she was lifted but sustained major injuries in the accident, NBC News reported.

Ventura County Aviation Unit/Instagram

Captain McGrath told PEOPLE that the secondary plan was to “get her up over the rocks using a ladder truck and stokes basket." Thankfully, however, the primary plan of a helicopter rescue proved successful.

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The Ventura Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for additional comment.

source: people.com