Passengers survive after Tesla plummets over 250 feet off California cliff



A Tesla carrying a 4-year-old, 9-year-old, and two adults plummeted over 250 feet off a cliff in California onto a rocky bed below, flipping multiple times in the process, according to CBS News.

The area known as Devil's Slide allegedly sees many fatal car wrecks along the Pacific Coast Highway about 15 miles south of San Francisco.

"We go there all the time for cars over the cliff and they never live. This was an absolute miracle," said firefighter Chief Brian Pottenger, who oversaw the rescue of the two adults and two children.

Based on its initial investigation, the California Highway Patrol says that it doesn't believe the Tesla was operating in auto-pilot/self-driving mode at the time of the crash. Road conditions were also ruled out as a cause for the incident.

"The damage to the vehicle would indicate that it hit and it flipped several times," Pottenger said.

"We were able to notice movement in the front seat through the windshield with binoculars, so we knew that we had at least one person that was alive," he continued, saying that authorities were "very shocked when [they] found survivable victims in the vehicle," he added.

The rescue operations took several hours as emergency workers battled consistent rain, wind, slick roads, and waves from the nearby ocean front. Firefighters were forced to use the "Jaws of Life" on the doors, which were jammed against the cliff.

The children were pulled from the car out of the back window and suffered musculoskeletal injuries with the firefighter saying they "were more scared than they were hurt."

The two adults were originally thought to have traumatic injuries, however after being air-lifted to a hospital, they were found to have only sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Video of the helicopter rescue shows waves crashing into the rocky bed of the cliffside, where the Tesla fell into a narrow pocket rough terrain next to the water. Multiple workers set up a series of ropes to extract the victims from the roofless car, which was surrounded by debris and one of the car doors.

Devil's Slide is allegedly known to rarely see survivors, especially in the area of the crash in question, which has no guard rails.

"The car traveled off the main portion of the roadway. For what reason, we don't know," said Officer Mark Andrews of the California Highway Patrol.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

\u201cThis morning, a vehicle with 2 adults and 2 minors went over cliff at Devil's Slide in @sanmateoco. Witnesses saw the accident and called 911. The car plunged hundreds of feet down the cliff and landed on the beach. All four patients were successfully rescued. Watch the video!\u201d
— CAL FIRE CZU (@CAL FIRE CZU) 1672706932
\u201cThis afternoon, deputies responded to a solo vehicle over the side of Hwy 1 south of the Tom Lantos tunnel. Two adults suffered non-life threatening injuries and two children were unharmed. Tremendous collaborative effort btwn SMSO, @CHP_GoldenGate and @calfireSCU\u201d
— San Mateo County S.O (@San Mateo County S.O) 1672709763


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Democrat Cal Cunningham concedes to GOP incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis in North Carolina



Democrat Cal Cunningham has conceded in his race to unseat Republican Sen. Thom Tillis in North Carolina, placing the GOP one step closer to maintaining control of the upper chamber.

What are the details?

Cunningham, 47, released a statement Tuesday saying that he had called Tillis "to congratulate him on winning re-election to a second term in the U.S. Senate and wished him and his family the best in their continued service in the months and years ahead."

"The voters have spoken and I respect their decision," he continued. "While the results of this election suggest there remain deep political divisions in our state and nation, the more complete story of our country lies in what unites us: our faith and sense of confidence in our democracy, our civic values and common humanity, our shared aspiration to care for one another, and our belief that we live in a country that does exceptional things."

My statement on the results of this race: https://t.co/dWo5gipxw8
— Cal Cunningham (@Cal Cunningham)1605039483.0

Tillis, 60, issued a statement acknowledging Cunningham's call, saying, "This was a hard-fought campaign and I wish nothing but the best to Cal and his family going forward."

Earlier this afternoon, Cal Cunningham called me to offer his concession. This was a hard-fought campaign and I wis… https://t.co/CKNqkPBscX
— Thom Tillis (@Thom Tillis)1605040003.0

Polls showed Tillis trailing behind Cunningham leading up to the election, but the race tightened in October after Cunningham admitted to exchanging sexually charged texts with a woman who is not his wife. The married father of two children was also hit with allegations of engaging in separate physical affairs with the alleged mistress and another unnamed woman.

Fox News reported that, according to elections policy analyst Andy Jackson of the conservative Civitas Institute, Tillis "had the odds stacked against him," noting that "North Carolina voters are 'brutal' to their incumbent senators, rejecting nearly all modern senators after just one term."

Anything else?

The Associated Press reported that Tillis led Cunningham by more than 95,000 votes in the race, and with it decided, "all eyes turned to Georgia, where two U.S. Senate runoff races in January are likely to determine the balance of the upper chamber."

The outlet pointed out:

With votes still uncounted and the races in North Carolina and Alaska still too early to call Tuesday, the Senate remained tied 48-48. Alaska GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is favored for another term against Al Gross, an independent running as a Democrat. If the Senate ended up tied 50-50, Democratic Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would wield the tiebreaking vote.

Now that Tillis has kept his seat, Republicans now hold 49 seats in the Senate to the Democrats' 48.

Also, North Carolina's presidential race and several other statewide races have not been called. President Trump leads former Vice President Joe Biden by more than 73,000 votes.

WATCH: Southern Democrat being coached to hide the truth from voters

"It's not lying ... it's simply re-wording the truth" says a voice on-camera, advising someone off-camera on how to "relate" to "stupid" North Carolina voters.

More sex scandal evidence surfaces, damaging Democrat Cal Cunningham's Senate bid

Democratic candidate for the Senate Cal Cunningham's campaign against incumbent Senator Thom Tillis in North Carolina has found itself on the rocks due to a recent sex scandal.

29 dead including 2 children, dozens missing from West Coast wildfires; President Trump to visit fire-ravaged California



Wildfires have devastated states on the West Coast; at least 29 people have been killed, dozens of others missing, and hundreds of thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes.

The National Interagency Fire Center reports that 97 large fires have burned 4.7 million acres across the western states. Over 29,000 firefighters and support personnel are battling the wildfires, along with 2,200 fire engines and 103 aircraft. There are evacuation orders in place due to 40 large fires in California, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown (D) noted that nearly 900,000 acres had burned by Friday. "In the last 10 years, we see an average of 500,000 acres burn in an entire year. We've seen that nearly double in the past three days," Brown said.

Approximately 500,000 in Oregon have evacuated or have been instructed to be prepared to evacuate, which is more than 10% of the state's population.

Oregon's emergency management director, Andrew Phelps, told MSNBC that the state is preparing for a "mass fatality incident" because of the wildfires. "There are going to be a number of fatalities, folks who just couldn't get warning in time and evacuate their homes and get to safety," Phelps said.

Wyatt Tofte, a 12-year-old boy from Lyons, Oregon, and his 71-year-old grandmother Peggy Mosso died while trying to escape the fire. The boy took shelter in the family car, but the flames surrounded him. A family spokeswoman said Wyatt was found by himself in a car, and the family's dog was found dead in his lap.

I've had incredibly heartbreaking conversations today. This is 12-year-old Wyatt Tofte & his grandmother, Peggy Mos… https://t.co/rVHTFVvP6E
— Kandra Kent (@Kandra Kent)1599713329.0


500,000 residents of northwest Oregon have either evacuated or been told to be ready to go, as those in southern Or… https://t.co/7pgMJhZGiE
— NPR (@NPR)1599854543.0


All @ORDeptForestry forestland is currently closed to public entry & use, including the Santiam, Tillamook, Clatsop… https://t.co/AyKNYEQLLE
— Forest Service NW (@Forest Service NW)1599939278.0


Residents evacuated from Molalla, Oregon, as the sky turned crimson from smoke and cinders as wildfires have contin… https://t.co/wVDnn8xO1k
— ABC News (@ABC News)1599880864.0


At least six people have died as wildfires tear through the US west coast.Dozens of fires have raged across Washi… https://t.co/bDPSntdA6O
— Channel 5 News (@Channel 5 News)1599841390.0


A record 3.2 million acres in California have been scorched since last month, and about 4,000 structures have been destroyed. The death toll in California from the wildfires reached 20 on Saturday.

A 16-year-old boy was among those where were killed by the wildfires in California. Josiah Williams died while trying to escape a fast-moving inferno in Berry Creek in Northern California.

"He was alone, terrified, and ran for his life," the boy's mother, Jessica Williams, told KOVR reporter Velena Jones. "My son was a good, smart, caring young boy that died alone, and it kills me thinking about what he was going through."

Cal Fire stated that five of the 20 largest California wildfires in history have occurred in 2020, including the biggest ever, the August Complex Fire. The largest California fire in history is located about a two-hour drive northwest of Sacramento. The August Complex Fire has burned 746,000 acres after merging with other large fires. The blaze is currently 25% contained.

Extreme weather conditions has caused an increase in acreage for the #CreekFire, which has now grown to be the 16th… https://t.co/wcbgYF4hc1
— CAL FIRE (@CAL FIRE)1599846608.0


Fires have been blazing across the western U.S. for the past few months. August and September 2020 saw record-setti… https://t.co/Q33Rds5P3m
— NASA Earth (@NASA Earth)1599849774.0

On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that he would visit fire-ravaged California. The president will travel to McClellan Park in Sacramento County on Monday to be briefed on the catastrophic wildfires.

"Since mid-August, President Trump and Governor Newsom have spoken by phone and the White House and FEMA have remained in constant contact with State and local officials throughout the response to these natural disasters. The President continues to support those who are battling raging wildfires in a locally-executed, state-managed, and federally-supported emergency response," Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.

On Friday, President Trump tweeted about the wildfires obliterating the West Coast.

"THANK YOU to the 28,000+ Firefighters and other First Responders who are battling wildfires across California, Oregon, and Washington," he wrote. "I have approved 37 Stafford Act Declarations, including Fire Management Grants to support their brave work. We are with them all the way!"

THANK YOU to the 28,000+ Firefighters and other First Responders who are battling wildfires across California, Oreg… https://t.co/JglonEB62E
— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1599870510.0

Authorities have arrested four people for suspected arson in the historic wildfires in California, Oregon, and Washington. Two Oregon men were arrested and accused of looting homes that were forced to evacuate.