Officials were working on getting a driver out of his vehicle and up a hill Wednesday after he drove over the side of a roadway in the Coachella Valley.
The collision was reported at 9:37 a.m. Wednesday on state Route 74, according to California Highway Patrol records. The driver was traveling westbound approximately a quarter mile from Vista Point when he crashed and was unable to open the vehicle’s door.
Firefighter paramedics were able to access the patient, treating him for “minor injuries,” according to the Riverside County Fire Department. He was set to be hoisted to the road via a rope system.
A helicopter landed nearby to be used to airlift the man to a local hospital, CHP officer Rafael Espinoza told City News Service. Traffic lanes in both directions were shut down, and were set to reopen by noon.
Authorities decided to postpone vehicle recovery efforts until a later time, according to CHP records.
No other vehicles were involved in the accident, Espinoza said.