A California woman survived four frigid nights after crashing her vehicle in a mountain area near Los Angeles County.
The woman, whose identity remains unknown, was driving her Ford Ranger pickup truck on 3 January when she veered off the road, plunging 100 feet down an embankment near Mount Baldy.
She was not able to seek help because her car landed in steep terrain mostly covered by thick bushes. The driver was trapped in her car, facing the elements and freezing temperatures for four nights before she was discovered by a Los Angeles County firefighter who noticed her truck around noon on Sunday, NBC reports.
The firefighter then alerted rescue personnel to the scene of the wreckage.
“It’s been very cold up there and it’s been rainy. Temperatures have been in the 30s at night,” Los Angeles County Fire Department Captain Ian Thrall told CBS. “No one saw her go over the side, no evidence of tire tracks or anything on the road or on the side of the road. So, she was very lucky they happened to come by and hear her.”
The woman reportedly said she was trying to swerve off around a deer when she lost control of the vehicle.
A woman survived four nights trapped in her vehicle after she crashed her pickup truck in a mountain area near Mount Baldy in Los Angeles County— (NBC News/Screengrab)
She was conscious at the time she was found but was unable to immediately recount the circumstances surrounding the crash.
After being rescued, she was airlifted to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, where she remains in stable condition — although it’s still unclear what injuries she sustained during the crash.
“Most of the time they don’t survive because it’s pretty steep terrain,” Captain Thrall added. “She’s pretty lucky.”
