Man Who Survived His Car Flying Off Cliff: 'It Was Just Airborne All The Way Down'
MALIBU (CBSLA) — "I just remember flying off the cliff and just holding on to dear life," says Zane Vargas.
Vargas is thankful to still have his life after an accident Friday evening. Around 6:30, Zane was driving to work in Malibu along Kanan Dume Road near Via Acero Street when he says he was hit by a car he didn't see coming. He tells CBS2's Rachel Kim he was sent off a cliff down 300 feet inside his Cadillac sedan.
"It was just airborne all the way down and I just landed boom," says Vargas. "The doors were jammed shut, I couldn't get out, all the air bags were deployed."
Zane hit his head on the steering wheel, broke his forearm and dislocated his shoulder.
"I immediately started yelling 'help, help, help me I'm down here,' " recalls Vargas.
The Malibu Search and Rescue team and LA County Fire Air Ops arrived to get Zane out of the car and up into the helicopter.
"They wedged open the door, they pulled me out slowly to make sure I wasn't more injured than I was," says Vargas.
Zane felt and saw the helicopter coming down the side of the cliff.
"I could just feel the wind and the debris hitting me and the firefighters protecting my face with their hands," says Vargas.
This 29-year-old says he was flown to the hospital where he was treated and just released, but Zane needs more surgeries. He and his wife are now dealing with another blow -- the loss of his car.
"That was everything me and my wife had to our name," says Vargas. "That's all we had which is our vehicle, we are living in it, and out of it."
But this couple is trying to focus on this.
"I fell 300-plus feet and I'm still here and I just look at it as a blessing," Vargas says.
A gofundme page has been set up to help Zane.