Maryland State Police Aviation rescues 19-year-old whose car plunged off West Virginia cliff

BALTIMORE - Maryland State Police Aviation crew rescued a young woman after her car plunged off a cliff Tuesday in West Virginia.

The 19-year-old was trapped inside her car after she drove it off the road and rolled down a 70-foot embankment above the Cacapon River, near the Maryland state line.

Troopers said the woman was treated for her injuries before she was placed in an inflatable raft and floated down river to an accessible hoisting point.

The woman needed aerial rescue due to the steep terrain, the severity of her injuries and the car's positioning in the ravine.

Pilots on Trooper 5, Cumberland Section, maneuvered the August AW139 helicopter 130 feet above the rocky terrain while a trooper/paramedic was lowered.

The trooper/paramedic secured the woman in a patient extrication platform with the assistance of Great Cacapon Volunteer Fire Co. and rescuers from Allegany and Washington counties, according to troopers.

She was flown to R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for treatment.