Soquel Duo Survives Three-Hour Cliff Rescue

Soquel-San Jose Road was closed Wednesday evening after a man and woman lost control of their Honda sedan and ended up 50 feet down an embankment, suspended in a patch of trees.

The pair, Soquel residents ages 69 and 57, were driving on the road at 2:30 p.m. about 4.5 miles from Soquel Drive at approximately 45 miles per hour before the crash, Central Fire Spokesman Mike DeMars told Patch.

DeMars said it was not clear how the driver lost control of the car, but he confirmed that no other vehicles were involved in the crash.

The couple sat suspended in their vehicle while emergency crews rushed to the scene and eventually rappelled down to the car.

"Because they were on a hillside, they had to stabilize the car and make sure that they were tied off so they didn't slip and fall down the hill," DeMars said. "You also have to tie the patients off so you don't lose them either. It's very time consuming because you have to set up the ropes, make sure everything is safe and stabilize the vehicle."

Both victims were safely brought back to road level and transported to Dominican Hospital to treat minor injuries, DeMars said.

According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, the entire rescue lasted roughly three hours.

Accidents of this nature are not uncommon on Soquel-San Jose Road. According to DeMars, emergency crews deal with similar situations "maybe a couple times a year."