COLFAX, CA. (THECOUNT) — In what officials are calling an “absolute miracle,” five people survived a suspected drunk driving crash Saturday after being ejected from an SUV that tumbled more than 200 feet to the bottom of a canyon near Sacramento, California, according to reports.
The ‘lucky to be alive’ occupants included a 20-year-old male driver, an 18-year-old male in the front passenger seat and three 16-year-old girls in the backseat, FoxNews reported Monday morning.
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None of the five occupants were wearing their seatbelts when they were ejected from the vehicle, which overturned multiple times as it plummeted, California Highway Patrol said.
Rescue teams responded around 4:40 p.m. local time to the crash on the narrow, winding Yankee Jims Road in Colfax, located outside Sacramento, Cal-Fire Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit said.
Officials released pictures of the crushed and crumbling SUV wedged between rocks and trees at the bottom of the canyon.
“Absolute miracle. It was a total miracle that they all survived,” Cal Fire Capt. Chris Baldoni told FOX40.
One victim managed to climb back up the road and wave down a passing car for help, Baldoni said.
The rescue lasted several hours as crews had to set up multiple rope systems to pull the victims up one by one from the canyon, officials said. One victim was airlifted while the others were driven to trauma centers with moderate to major injuries, reports FoxNews.
The 20-year-old driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, police said.
Geo quick facts: Colfax is a city in Placer County, California, at the crossroads of Interstate 80 and State Route 174. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,963 at the 2010 census – Wikipedia.