N.L. WOMAN SERIOUSLY INJURED AFTER CAR TAKES DRAMATIC PLUNGE OFF CLIFF.
20-year-old in hospital with serious injuries
ST. JOHN’S, N.L . • A 20- year- old woman whose car plunged down Signal Hill in St. John’s, N. L ., jumped or was ejected just before it crashed partway down the rocky cliff high over the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday.
St. John’s Fire Department platoon chief Rick Mackey said the woman somehow breached the gate at the popular national historic site around 8 a.m.
He said she was either thrown or jumped from the vehicle as it nosedived over the wind- swept rock face just below Cabot Tower, coming to rest about 90 metres down the 250- metre cliff.
“As you can imagine, that was a bit of a new one for us,” said Mackey, who has been a firefighter for 30 years. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
Mackey said the woman, the only occupant of the grey Toyota Echo sedan, landed roughly 45 metres down the cliff face and was rescued by emergency crews within about 20 minutes. She was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
“I can’t even speculate on how or why she managed to be up there,” said the platoon chief, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary spokesman Const. Geoff Higdon said no foul play was suspected. He said the woman’s identity was not being released at that time.
Higdon said the car was in an area closed to traffic. A wooden gate down an access road below Cabot Tower was open Sunday afternoon and appeared to have been damaged.
Mackey said the badly damaged car, which was teetering on the rocks in 100 km/ h winds, had also been recovered. He said crews consulted with Parks Canada and made removing the car a priority.
“Because of the precarious position of the vehicle and