A late-night ATV ride in Valley Center ended in a cliffside emergency today, as two people had to be pulled from a remote slope after their vehicle went over the edge. Crews spent more than two hours working on a steep, brush-choked mountainside to reach the stranded riders, with one person ultimately airlifted out and the other carried down to a waiting ambulance.
According to FOX 5, units from the San Pasqual Reservation Fire Department were dispatched around 10:45 PM after reports that an all-terrain vehicle had gone off a cliff. The department's battalion chief told the outlet that crews had to clear roughly 100 feet of heavy brush to reach the victims, a time-consuming effort that helped stretch the rescue to just over two hours. One rider was hoisted out by air for medical treatment, while the other was carried down the slope to an ambulance with assistance from a Rincon Fire Department REMS team.
Multi-agency response
The rescue turned into the kind of backcountry operation that regularly pulls in multiple agencies in the Valley Center area. The Valley Center Fire Protection District notes on its website that it operates with automatic and mutual-aid partnerships involving tribal and county partners. The San Pasqual Reservation Fire Department lists a station at 16460 Kumeyaay Way that serves surrounding communities and often works those joint responses.
Investigation and injuries
FOX 5 reported that investigators are still looking into the speed and circumstances that caused the ATV to leave the cliff. Officials had not yet disclosed the nature or extent of the victims' injuries, and the same report noted that the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol assisted with the late-night operation.
Authorities have not released the names of the two riders. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact local law enforcement.
