A military serviceman whose car rolled several hundred feet down a steep embankment managed to crawl back up to the highway and flag down help, according to a California Highway Patrol officer.
The driver was traveling along eastbound Interstate 8 after 10 p.m. Monday when he apparently fell asleep at the wheel and drove into the dirt median, San Diego police said.
The man overcorrected and traveled across three lanes and down the embankment off the highway.
The vehicle rolled over and landed several hundred feet down the hillside.
The driver was able to get out of the wreckage, climb up the hillside and wave down traffic, CHP Officer Jared Grieshaber said.
Grieshaber did not identify the driver but confirmed he is 20 years old and an active member of the U.S. military. He suffered cuts on his left hand.
The driver’s 19-year-old wife was pulled from the vehicle with the help of another driver.
Viejas firefighters and Cal Fire crews put the woman on a gurney and carried her up the embankment. She was transported to Sharp Hospital and is recovering with a collapsed lung, officials said.
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The couple was traveling to Yuma where the husband is based, officials told NBC 7.
