Driver Who Plunged Down Hillside in Woodcrest Rescued by Firefighters

A motorist who plunged down a steep embankment Thursday in Woodcrest was rescued by firefighters.

The crash was reported just before 11 a.m. in the area of Laurel and Canyon Ridge drives, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. The car was found at the bottom of a roughly 200-foot embankment.

The driver, whose name was not released, suffered unspecified moderate injuries and was unable to self-extricate from the wreckage.

Firefighters initially requested assistance from a sheriff's STAR-9 helicopter crew to perform a hoist rescue, but by 12:25 p.m., the motorist had been carried to the roadway by crews on the scene, prompting cancellation of the air support.

The motorist was taken to Riverside Community Hospital in stable condition, according to officials at the scene.

Sheriff's deputies were investigating the crash.