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Driver Rescued After Jeep Flies Off Cliff

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Jul 6, 2009 2:04 pm US/Mountain

Driver Rescued After Jeep Flies Off Cliff

MONUMENT, Colo. (CBS4) ― A teenager is hurt but alive after his Jeep went off a cliff in El Paso County over the weekend.

The 19-year-old was on Mount Herman just west of Monument when he went over the cliff and was thrown out.

He was badly hurt but still managed to crawl up 30 feet to try to signal for help.

Rescuers found him 12 hours later and airlifted him out of the mountains on Saturday to a hospital.

They say that after looking at the accident scene and the crushed car it is lucky he survived.

"It's compacted into a little ball," said rescuer Skee Hipszky. "You can't even tell what kind of car it is, it's just crunched."

It isn't known exactly how the Jeep went over the cliff. Authorities say the recent heavy rain has washed out parts of the road, which may have given way under his vehicle.

"He just wanted to get out of there. That was his biggest concern -- to get moving and get off that hillside," Hipszky said.

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