Traffic collision on I-15 sends vehicle 300 ft over embankment

A vehicle careened off Interstate 15 northbound near State Route 76 on Saturday evening, plummeting approximately 300 feet down the embankment, according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) is on scene and has recovered a person and paramedics are packaging the patient for transport to Palomar Hospital.

CalFire, North County Fire, and CHP are actively working the scene and bright lights were utilized to help find the car and rescue the victim. A Stokes basket was used to carry the victim up the steep embankment.

Three lanes of traffic have been open while one lane, the slow lane, has been closed.

The incident, which occurred at around 8:11 p.m., involved a single vehicle that veered off the road and over a guardrail, making it invisible from the roadway. Initial reports indicated the vehicle, possibly black in color, was driving erratically before the accident.

A Good Samaritan in an unknown white sedan pulled over to assist, though the vehicle involved in the crash could not be seen from the road. Emergency responders were dispatched to the scene, with units arriving at 8:33 p.m. Firefighters from Cal Fire were also notified and responded to the incident.

A tow truck was requested to recover the vehicle from its location down the cliff, though the precise nature of the accident and the condition of the occupant/occupants were not immediately available.

The CHP will investigate the circumstances surrounding the collision. No further details have been released at this time.