ENCINITAS : Bystanders Save Woman in Wreck

A woman whose car plunged 50 feet down a ravine and flipped upside down in a creek was saved by bystanders who prevented her from drowning, officials said.

Anne Godfrey, 51, of La Mesa, was listed in critical but stable condition Thursday at Palomar Medical Center with injuries to her head, hospital spokeswoman Nancy Sayre said.

Godfrey was rescued Wednesday after several onlookers used tree limbs to break the windshield of the car, which was submerged in a canyon creek off El Camino Real north of Tennis Club Drive. Larse Fahlberg, 39, of Leucadia, then crawled inside to help the unconscious woman.

“She was face first in 8 inches of water, and one man raised her head to check on her breathing,” Encinitas Fire Department spokesman Steve Marvin said. “She would have drowned, no question about it. The man definitely saved her life.”

After firefighters and sheriff’s deputies were notified, a medical helicopter was called. Rescue crews freed her from the car after about 30 minutes, and paramedics took her to the waiting helicopter.