Four people were hospitalized Sunday, including an initially “pulseless” 12-year-old girl, after the truck in which they were traveling went over the side of the Angeles Crest Highway, authorities said.
The child was listed in critical condition, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Her parents and a friend, who were also injured, were in good condition.
The crash occurred about 2 p.m. near mile marker 53.05, said Sgt. Cris Hofmeister of the sheriff’s Cresenta Valley station.
Reserve volunteers with the Montrose Search and Rescue Team were conducting training exercises in the Angeles National Forest when they were flagged down by citizens, who informed them that the truck had gone over a cliff, the statement said.
The team members, including a physician, responded to the crash site. They arrived to find the “mangled” vehicle on its side and pinned against a tree, authorities said.
According to the news release, the 12-year-old girl “was severely injured and trapped inside the truck, prompting rescue efforts to tip the truck off its side before immediately performing CPR” on her after she was extricated.
She was initially “pulseless,” sheriff’s Reserve Chief Mike Leum said on Twitter.
The medical aid continued as the child was transported up a hill to an awaiting sheriff’s helicopter, which airlifted her to a hospital, the department said.
Two other victims were also flown to medical centers, Hofmeister said. The fourth person was possibly transported to a hospital via ambulance, the sergeant said.
The cause of the crash was under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.
#LASD Air 5 crew w/Montrose SAR extricate 12 yr old from car over on ACH. SEB Tac Medics treat & rush into surgery. pic.twitter.com/WPY7Pukm4j
— SEB (@SEBLASD) September 27, 2015
https://twitter.com/Resqman/status/648317743310114816