ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST >> Two people were hurt, and one of them went missing for hours, after their car plummeted over the side of Angeles Crest Highway deep in the Angeles National Forest early Sunday, officials said.
A passer-by discovered the crash scene about a mile north of Mt. Wilson Red Box Road shortly before 10 a.m. after hearing a woman screaming for help, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Bill Jaeger said.
Members of the Montrose Search and Rescue Team joined Los Angeles County firefighters to hoist the injured passenger, a teenage girl, to safety, Jaeger said.
She was flown to an area hospital by helicopter for treatment of injuries not believed to be life threatening, Sgt. Booker Hollis said.
But the driver of the car, a man of about 20 years old, was nowhere to be found as of noon, officials said.
“They found a blood trail, which indicates he’s injured and was trying to make his way out of the area,” Jaeger said.
Authorities called off the mountain search Sunday afternoon, Hollis said. The man remained missing.
Shortly before 4 p.m., however, a CBS television news crew that went up the mountain to cover the story heard a man yelling for help, Lt. Chad Sauter said. They notified authorities, who re-dispatced rescuers to the scene.
Officials found the man suffering from a broken leg and other injuries not believed to be life-threatening in the same area they had been searching with the aid of two helicopters and two search dogs, Sauter said.
It was unclear why the man didn’t call out to rescuers, or could not be heard, earlier in the day.
The crash was initially believed to have taken place several hours before the wreckage was discovered.