BIG BEAR, CA. (Pain In The Pass) >> A woman was airlifted to the hospital Tuesday morning after her vehicle plunged 200 feet off the side of Highway 18 near Big Bear.
The crash was reported around 9:44am on November 11, 2025, along a winding portion of the highway between Big Bear Lake and Running Springs.
According to the California Highway Patrol traffic log, the vehicle went off the roadway and landed upside down and about 200 feet down the mountain side. The female driver suffered a major head injury and witnesses were unable to get her out of the vehicle.
Firefighters said, she was the only occupant of the vehicle. They provide medical care and begin a technical rescue with rope and rappel teams. Rescuers traversed the steep and rocky terrain to provide immediate first aid.
The woman was eventually removed from the vehicle and hoisted back up to the highway. She was transported by an ambulance to Snow Valley in Running Springs where Mercy Air helicopter transported her to Loma Linda University Hospital.
She was awake, however first responder explained she was showing sure signs of Traumatic Brain Injury with an altered level of consciousness. They also said, she was unable to remember her name, where she was, what she was doing.
The woman’s condition was not immediately disclosed.
We will update this story with more information when the CHP’s preliminary accident report is available. This incident will be under investigation by the California Highway Patrol, Inland Office.
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