PORT HARDY – A young woman is lucky to be alive, say police, after the car she was driving went over the cliff at Thomas Point.
The girl, her boyfriend and another female were at the point during the early morning hours of Jan. 8.
The vehicle became stuck and the two young adults got out to push while the younger girl got behind the wheel, said Phil Lue, spokesperson for Vancouver Island North Regional Police Services.
“Something went wrong and the vehicle went over the cliff, falling about four metres and lodging in the rocks,” said Lue. “The driver then exited the vehicle, then fell the rest of the way into the water, about seven or eight metres.”
Lue said the girl’s boyfriend jumped into the water to rescue her and managed to pull her out onto a nearby beach.
Emergency services were called and the girl, suffering from hypothermia, head injury and cuts and bruises, was taken to Port Hardy hospital. She was later transferred to Victoria and is expected to make a full recovery.
“Doctors said she is very lucky,” said Lue. And he concurs. “She is lucky the vehicle didn’t continue falling into the water. And she is extremely lucky in where she fell. There are very large jagged rocks in the area.”
Lue said alcohol may have been a factor in the incident.