An allegedly impaired driver recently survived a fiery, 600-foot plunge off a serpentine highway in rural Northern California – but still faces the long arm of the law, officials said.
The wild ride unfolded earlier last week on Highway 263 in rural Siskiyou County when an man driving a truck veered off the road and tumbled down a steep cliffside, throwing himself into a deadly situation, police said.
The white pickup was ripped in half and reduced to a ball of twisted, charred metal, but somehow the driver, who hasn’t been identified, survived.
“Remarkably, the driver survived what could have easily been a fatal crash,” the California Highway Patrol said.
The driver was arrested for DUI.
Photos of the brutal wreck posted online by the CHP show tire tracks drifting onto the right-hand shoulder of windy Highway 263. The tracks suggest he veered back onto the roadway, but overcorrected and slammed on the brakes before flying off the left side of the road.
The truck bounced down a steep embankment about as tall as a 60-story building, losing its rear half as it plowed down the near vertical hillside before finally landing on a dirt path in a gully at the bottom of the precipice.
The crumbled cab exploded into flames among the scrub brush, leaving behind only a charred husk of the front half of the truck, CHP photos of the scene posted on Instagram show. Officials didn’t say if the driver was injured.
The CHP said it was a miracle the man survived.
“This crash serves as a powerful reminder that impaired driving puts not only your life at risk, but also the lives of everyone else on the road,” the CHPS said in a statement.
“Choosing to drive under the influence can have devastating consequences that are entirely preventable.”
Commenters on the CHP’s Instagram post for the crash said an angel must’ve been looking out for the suspected DUI driver.
“Someone had the good lord not just watching over, but creating a bubble wrap in cabin,” said one commenter.
The scary Siskiyou County crash came just weeks after a suspected DUI crash in May claimed the lives of five teenagers and left one badly injured in rural Santa Barbara County.
The tragic Santa Maria Valley accident prompted local officials to warn of the dangers of alcoholism, which they said was a “major theme” in the area.
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