Update: Injured Motorist Climbs Up Steep Ravine After Spending Night In Crashed Vehicle
Update at 4:30pm: CHP officials report that the man rescued several hours after a solo crash by crawling up a steep embankment is a Murphys resident.
Friday afternoon, the CHP San Andreas Unit identified the victim of the late Thursday night accident near Sheep Ranch Road North and Ponderosa Way as 30-year-old Eshwar Rajagopal.
According to the CHP report, he was driving a 1998 Toyota and drove off the west edge of the roadway. Rajagopal was ejected and the vehicle wound up on its roof at the bottom of a 100-foot slope.
As the vehicle was not visible from the roadway, it was fortunate that he was gradually able to make his way up the hillside to seek assistance. He was taken to Modesto Memorial for treatment of major injuries.
Tori James contributed to this report.
Update at 11:05 a.m.: The CHP reports that the driver of a vehicle was flown from the scene with major injuries this morning after sleeping in the crashed vehicle overnight and then crawling up a steep ravine to call for help. The actual wreck happened around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday. The CHP reports that a tow crew has retrieved the vehicle that was on its roof from the ravine while officers directed traffic for about an hour. Further details on the crash are below.
Original post at 8:50 a.m.: Murphys, CA — Emergency responders remain on the scene of a crash in Calaveras County where the driver spent the night inside his wrecked vehicle suffering serious injuries and then had to climb up a steep ravine this morning to call for help.
The CHP reports the solo-vehicle collision happened around 11:30 p.m. when a vehicle went off Sheep Ranch Road near Shelter Lane and Ponderosa Way in the Murphys area and sailed down an embankment. The vehicle ended up on its roof. San Andreas Unit CHP spokesperson Toby Butzler details, “It’s pretty far down. Officers on the scene have requested a tow truck with 150 feet of cable to retrieve the vehicle. Apparently, the driver sustained major injuries and the fire department is in the process of getting a life flight helicopter to fly him out.”
The driver was able to make it to the top of the embankment around 8:30 this morning and called 911. Butzler adds that officers will be directing one-way traffic on the roadway when the tow truck arrives to pull the vehicle up from the ravine. We will update this incident when further details come into the newsroom.
