A man in his 20s was killed and three other people were rescued alive after a vehicle went over the side of Angeles Crest Highway and plunged hundreds of feet near La Cañada Flintridge, authorities said Thursday.
The crash occurred around 10:10 p.m. Wednesday near mile marker 26-50, according to the California Highway Patrol. It remained unclear what caused the driver of the vehicle to veer off the roadway.
Los Angeles County Fire Department search and rescue teams responded to the scene to extricate the vehicle’s four occupants. Authorities initially requested a helicopter around 11 p.m. to airlift the victims but later canceled the request.
“Last night Pasadena Police and Fire responded to a vehicle that went off the Angeles Crest,” Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said. “Our Urban Search and Rescue team along with Los Angeles County Fire, Glendale Fire, and Montrose Search and Rescue conducted low angle rope operations to reach four trapped occupants of a heavily damaged vehicle. Personnel utilized the jaws of life to extricate each person who were then brought up the steep terrain in a rescue basket.”
A man in his 20s was fatally injured and three other occupants — a man and two women, all in their early 20s — sustained moderate to significant injuries.
“One firefighter sustained a knee injury and was transported to a local emergency room,” Derderian said.
Authorities closed both directions of the Angeles Crest Highway during the rescue operation.