Watch CHP Rescue Woman Whose Car Flew 450 Feet Down Cliff

NAPA VALLEY, CA — Thanks to a passerby and the quick work of first responders, a Napa woman survived a harrowing experience Tuesday morning when her car flew 450 feet off a cliff and she became trapped, according to the California Highway Patrol. Karla Zambrano, 20, was driving a 2007 Saturn north on state Highway 121/Monticello Road — south of Wooden Valley Road in unincorporated Napa County — when the car went off the roadway and down the embankment, CHP Officer Marc Renspurger said.

At 9:11 a.m. Tuesday, CHP's H-32 helicopter crew, Cal Fire/Napa County Fire personnel and AMR paramedics responded and located the Saturn near Dukes Curve, according to Shaun Bouyea, a flight officer and paramedic with the responding CHP helicopter crew.

With the Saturn tilted on its side and the airbags deployed, Zambrano was trapped: she was wearing her seat belt and could not reach her cellphone, Bouyea said.

"Luckily for the driver, a bicyclist happened to be riding in the area and saw her vehicle go over the cliff," Bouyea said. "Without the bicyclist observing the vehicle, it's unknown how long it would've taken for her to be found in the heavily wooded area."

The first step in the rescue involved lowering a helicopter crew member to Zambrano's location in order to provide advance life support, Bouyea said.

Following a 45-minute process of extricating Zambrano from the car — including removing the Saturn's windshield — she was hoisted up to the helicopter and flown by CHP helicopter to Queen of the Valley Medical Center in nearby Napa.

Zambrano was treated and released from Queen of the Valley Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Bouyea noted that a tree prevented the Saturn from falling farther down the embankment.

Renspurger said Zambrano was unlicensed.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.