Dashcam Video Shows Car Fly Down 200-Foot Embankment

Police revealed a dramatic dash camera video that saw a car careen off the road, plummeting 200 feet.

The video, taken from another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction, starts off calmly enough. However, a dark-colored car is then seen to the left driving straight off the road. It seems the driver didn’t realize the road curved to the right and kept moving, hitting the side of the road, lifting a bit, and then falling down an embankment. The footage was uploaded to YouTube by The Oregonian, and while it isn’t graphic, it does show the car clearly speeding off the road before dipping into the embankment.

Oregon State Police further expressed the accident was a case of “distracted driving” that happened “after the driver took their eyes off the roadway,” according to a Facebook post.

Though police said the driver of the car in question suffered injuries, they were able to get themselves out of the vehicle. Emergency responders later “deployed a rope system to carry the driver up the hill to safety,” according to Oregon State Police’s Facebook post. Though it’s unclear how severe the extent of their injuries were or what condition they are in now, Oregon State Police said the driver “is fortunate to have survived this crash,” in its post.

“Crews treated the patient and with the help of additional units, deployed a rope system to bring the patient from the cliff up to safety. M303 transported the patient to a trauma center,” the Clackamas Fire District said in a related Facebook post. Commenters on the social media posts raised concerns about safe driving and suggested putting up guardrails in the area to prevent such incidents in the future.

The crash took place along Highway 224 in Damascus, Oregon, near Portland. According to the fire department’s post, an off-duty firefighter also helped respond to the incident.

Image credits: The Orgegonian