Motorist rescued after cliff dive in car

A California Highway Patrol helicopter crew used a hoist to rescue a man who became trapped after driving his car over a cliff in Pacifica Wednesday morning.

At 9:50 a.m., crews from the North County Fire Authority responded to the 500 block of Manor Drive and discovered that the man’s car was 300 feet down the face of a steep cliff behind several homes.

The man, who is in his 50s, was trapped in the car, which had come to rest on its left side.

Firefighters were able to reach the man by using a rope system to repel down the cliff but soon determined that the best way to extricate him was to call in a helicopter rescue.

The man was eventually placed in a rescue basket and hoisted up to the helicopter, which met a waiting ambulance on the ground.

He was taken to the hospital with injuries that are not considered life-threatening.