It was described as a miracle. A family of four plummeted more than 250 feet and were trapped on Monday after their car careened off a cliff in Northern California.
The father could face charges after the authorities said their car drop wasn't an accident but a deliberate act.
The Golden Gate Division of the California Highway Patrol said on Tuesday that a man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse. After being released from the hospital, he will be taken to the jail. The San Mateo County district attorney said that it had not received the case from the Highway Patrol to make a decision.
A helicopter was used to rescue the family from the mangled white car after the crash.
The rescue took place on a scenic stretch of Highway 1 about 20 miles southwest of San Francisco.
Brian Pottenger, the battalion chief of the Coastside Fire Protection District's San Mateo- Santa Cruz unit, said in an email that the area where the car fell is very high and filled with rocky cliffs. It is often referred to as Devil's Slide because it is hard to drive through. The passengers were able to access the side windows through the upright wheels of the vehicle.
It is very rare for anyone to survive an accident of this magnitude in this area.
The couple and their two children were trapped in the vehicle when emergency responders arrived. The victims were extricated and the children were taken to the hospital on stretchers. The children were not hurt. The adults were hoisted onto a helicopter and taken to a hospital, where they were treated for their injuries.
The highway patrol said in a news release that investigators had worked overnight Monday interviewing witnesses and analyzing the crash site and had determined that it was an intentional act. The agency said it was not sure if the car was in a self-drive mode.
The highway patrol spokesman wouldn't say what evidence led to the arrest of Mr.
The stretch of highway where the accident happened has been the scene of dozens of fatal accidents in recent decades in which people have driven off the road.
The road was made safer by the opening of a tunnel. Nine deaths have occurred there since, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. The crash happened just south of the tunnel.
According to a report by the California Department of Transportation, run-off-the road accidents were more common in the area that includes Devil's Slide than elsewhere in the state. There have been road closings due to land slides.
Christine gave reporting.
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