Car Plummets Over Curve In Pines To Palms Crash, Driver Trapped Inside

ANZA, CA — One person was trapped inside their vehicle overnight after their car plummeted from a curve on the winding roadway between Temecula and Palm Desert. Tow trucks were called to the scene the next day, needing 100 feet of cable to retrieve the car from below the roadway, CHP said.

Shortly after 8 p.m. on Wednesday, California Highway Patrol officers and Riverside County Sheriff's Department arrived at the scene in the 71450 block of State Route 74, where the driver of a red Hyundai Accent self-reported that they failed to negotiate the curve in the road.

"The vehicle landed on its driver's side, with the reporting party trapped inside the vehicle," CHP dispatch said.

The car was dark, without headlights or hazard lights, after sliding off a curve.

"He was uncertain if his vehicle was visible from above," dispatch said.

CalFire/Riverside County Firefighters who arrived at the scene freed the driver and transported him to a local hospital.

Riverside County Sheriff's Department lent assistance and was able to stabilize the scene, according to CHP dispatch reports.

It was not immediately clear how the trapped driver was extricated; however, the driver suffered minor injuries in that collision. More information will be added to this report as it is received. By 9:30 p.m., officers determined they would need to recover the vehicle in daylight.

As of 10 a.m., Thursday, tow trucks were working to remove the vehicle from the mountain road. No other information was immediately available.