Driver Unhurt After Plunge From Cliff

A 28-year-old man Monday survived a 40-yard plunge at the wheel of his Ford Bronco off a steep cliff atop the Conejo Grade virtually without a scratch, authorities said.

Brandon Gracy of Newbury Park was airlifted by helicopter to Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks in what his rescuers initially described as serious condition, but doctors could find no injuries, said hospital spokeswoman Kris Carraway.

“We X-rayed him, we found nothing wrong with him, and so we sent him home,” she said.

Emergency personnel responded to the west end of Grande Vista Drive about 10:15 a.m. after witnesses told authorities they saw a vehicle roll off a hill in the area, said Frank Underlin, a helicopter crew chief with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Firefighters were unable to locate anyone, so Underlin’s airborne helicopter was diverted to conduct a search.

Underlin said Gracy was spotted beside his wrecked sports utility vehicle that had rolled several times down the cliff.

Gracy told Underlin he was backing his four-wheel drive up when it slipped out of gear and went over the edge of a narrow firebreak road along the ridge.

Gracy said he was unable to move, but had attempted to build a small signal fire to alert passersby.

County Fire Department personnel hiked into the crash scene and loaded Gracy onto the helicopter to be ferried to the hospital.