A Canadian man has survived driving off a cliff and getting swept into the Pacific Ocean on the island of Hawaii.
The 27-year-old tourist, unidentified by authorities, went over a cliff not far from the South Point diving cliff on the southern tip of the island. Cars are forbidden from the area due to poor road conditions.
The Hawaii County Fire Department got word of the crash at 3:38 a.m. local time, officials told KHON-TV. The man was in the area to catch the sunrise last weekend when he plunged over the cliff, officials said.
An unidentified fisherman, who was nearly struck by the car, called 911. The crash also woke up a couple of other people who were sleeping in the area so that they could spearfish in the morning.
The car was flipped onto its roof, and the tourist fell into the ocean and got washed out after opening one of the doors of the Jeep.
“The driver’s side was jammed up with a rock so he couldn’t get out. Obviously, it was upside down on the roof so he was upside down and hanging right over the water on the passenger side,” one of the spear fishermen, Mike Moody, told KITV-TV.
A helicopter was sent to retrieve the tourist, and fire department personnel guided him as he swam back to shore.
“He was floating on his back 80 feet from shore, we coached him in and he swam to a safe area,” HCFD Chief Kazuo Todd told KHON-TV.
The man was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for facial injuries, scratches, and slight hypothermia.