PCH Closed for Rescue of Woman

Pacific Coast Highway near Sycamore Canyon Road was briefly shut down Thursday morning as authorities rescued a woman whose car plunged off the roadway and down a rocky 75-foot hillside.

Crews from the Ventura County Fire Department rushed to pull the woman from her car, which was in danger of being dragged into the sea by waves crashing onto the rocks.

“The car was very unstable,” said Joe Luna, Fire Department spokesman. “Waves were breaking onto the car and onto rescuers. Water was actually filling the car. So they had to remove her quickly.”

The woman, whose name was not released, was in and out of consciousness during the 8:30 a.m. rescue attempt south of Point Mugu, Luna said.

Rescue workers used ropes to create a pulley over the hillside and, laying the woman in a mobile stretcher, lifted her to the roadway.

Traffic was stopped to allow the Sheriff’s Department’s helicopter to land across the lanes and pick up the woman. She was taken to St. John’s Medical Center in Oxnard for treatment.

Authorities said the woman, who was not wearing her seat belt, did not appear to have life-threatening injuries.