A Canadian tourist visiting Hawaii walked away largely unscathed after driving his car off a 60-foot cliff on Hawaii Island and into the ocean early Sunday morning.
According to local reports, the unidentified 27-year-old man was driving a rented Jeep on a restricted back road near the South Point cliff diving area when the vehicle fell off the cliff around 3:30 a.m.
The rental car got stuck upside down on the rocks below, and when the tourists crawled out, it fell into the water directly below and was quickly washed away. Island News reported.
Fortunately for him, local spearfishermen often camp on the shore overnight to begin fishing at dawn, and several who were there that morning saw the jeep and then the man fall. .
They immediately called 911 and first responders were able to guide the man from the shore and bring him safely.
One of the fishermen who witnessed the rescue said he and his diving partner were woken up by another fisherman who nearly hit the jeep driver as it fell off the cliff.
“He said the car went off the cliff just to his right,” Mike Moody told local media.
The fisherman immediately called 911.
“If he hadn’t seen it, that guy would have been 100 percent dead,” Moody said. told KHON2.
He said the Jeep was completely flipped over and the driver’s side door was blocked.
“There was a stone stuck in the driver’s side and he couldn’t get out. It was obviously upside down on the roof, so he was hanging upside down over the water on the passenger side,” Moody said. told Island News.
“He probably didn’t know there was water underneath him. He said he had just opened the door and the child just fell into the water.”
Despite the steep fall and strong currents, the Canadian athlete was able to swim to safety with the help of first responders.
“He was floating on his back 80 feet from shore and we guided him and swam him to safety,” Hawaii Island Fire Chief Kazuo Todd told KHON2.
From there, firefighters used ropes to pull the man to shore.
He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor facial injuries, scratches, and mild hypothermia.
According to the local police department, rental cars are not meant to be driven on the dirt road along the cliff where the man ran due to poor conditions and limited cell space.
Fishermen said the roads were “very dangerous”. [that] It’s on the island side. ”
“And if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can get into pretty big trouble,” a fisherman named Jason told Island News.
