California driver and dog rescued after spending night trapped in crushed truck

(CALIFORNIA) — A California man and his dog were rescued on Wednesday after spending the night trapped in a crushed pickup truck along a highway in the northern part of the state, according to the California Highway Patrol.

At approximately 10:03 a.m. Wednesday, a motorist traveling along Highway 89 — three miles north of Calpine, California — called 911 after passing by the wreckage, “but was unsure if anyone was in the vehicle,” the Sierra County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Wednesday evening.

Since police were not certain of the condition of the driver, paramedics, the local fire department and California Highway Patrol accompanied a sheriff’s deputy to the scene, officials said.

Upon arrival, first responders found the pickup truck approximately “30 feet down the hillside along Highway 89,” the sheriff’s office said.

Inside the vehicle, authorities found “one single occupant and a dog,” the sheriff’s office said.

The driver told officials he “crashed the day before around 2 p.m. and had spent the night in the truck,” even admitting to officials that “he just wasn’t paying attention and went off the road,” according to highway patrol.

The Sierra County Fire Department contacted the U.S. Forest Service and Graeagle Fire for assistance in extracting the driver from the wreckage, the sheriff’s department said.

After an hour of “meticulous work,” the driver was removed from the vehicle and taken to the hospital with “moderate injuries,” the sheriff’s office said.

“It was a pleasure working with Sierra County Fire — Calpine in the successful extrication of a complicated situation. Wishing the patient a full and speedy recovery,” Graeagle Fire Department said in a statement on Wednesday.

The dog appeared to not have any injuries and is currently “being cared for by a friend of the driver,” the sheriff’s office said.

Upon investigation, authorities said they believe the driver had been trapped inside the car for neatly 22 hours before being discovered by the motorist.

The cause of the crash is currently being investigated by the California Highway Patrol.

After this situation, California Highway Patrol urged people to remember “the responsibility we all have to each other when operating these rolling hunks of metal,” the agency said in a statement.