‘Miracle’ Rescue Saves 4 After 250-Foot Devil’s Slide Plunge In Tesla

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — The two children in a Tesla that plunged over a cliff near Devil's Slide on Monday are unharmed, the San Mateo Sheriff's Office has announced.

The two adults in the car suffered non life-threatening injuries but were said to be in critical condition earlier in the day.

All four passengers were removed from the Tesla in a multi-agency rescue effort.

The car went off Highway 1 just south of the Tom Lantos Tunnels shortly before 11 a.m.

Several helicopters were sent to the scene to aid in the rescue, according to Cal Fire.

The Tesla sedan plummeted more than 250 feet (76.20 meters) from the highway and crashed into a rocky outcropping. It appears to have flipped a few times before landing on its wheels, wedged against the cliff just feet from the surf, according to Brian Pottenger, a battalion chief forCoastside Fire Protection District/Cal Fire.

Crashes along Devil’s Slide, a steep, rocky and winding coastal area about 15 miles (24.14 kilometers) south of San Francisco that’s between Pacifica and Montara, rarely end with survivors. On Monday, the victims were initially listed in critical condition but all four were conscious and alert when rescuers arrived.

“We go there all the time for cars over the cliff and they never live. This was an absolute miracle,” Pottenger said.

A witness told NBC Bay Area they saw the car go over the cliff.

"As I’m driving by, I’m like, ‘Wow, he's driving extremely fast to take that exit. You're not even supposed to be going up that way,” Robin Johnson told the television station.

"And I can see in my rear-view mirror this car that just go over the edge and straight down."

— Bay City News, The Associated Press and Patch staffer Gideon Rubin contributed to this report