Driver hospitalized after driving 30+ feet down Vernonia embankment
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A driver was hospitalized on Friday after driving more than 30 feet down an embankment in Vernonia, authorities said.
Emergency crews responded to the crash along Timber Road after the driver's Apple device alerted authorities to a "vehicle accident, unknown injury," according to the Mist-Birkenfeld Rural Fire Protection District.
First responders couldn't find the crash until a resident nearby reported hearing someone screaming for help, which helped crews find the accident, authorities said.
The car crashed more than 30 feet down a steep embankment and was buried in heavy brush, officials reported.
“It was basically impossible to see it from the road,” Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD said in a Facebook post.
Additional crews from Banks Fire District and a Columbia County rescue team were called to the scene to help with a high-angle rope rescue to bring the driver up to the road.
Officials said the driver was taken to a local trauma center.