BY STEPHEN WALL / CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Published: Dec. 21, 2014 Updated: 6:13 p.m.
A motorist who was off-roading in the foothills north of Cal State San Bernardino died Sunday afternoon, Dec. 21, after the jeep he was driving rolled down an embankment and he was ejected, a fire official said.
Shortly before noon, the man called 911 on his cell phone when he lost control of the jeep on Cloudland Truck Trail, a U.S. Forest Service road between the university and Highway 18, said Rodd Mascis, spokesman for the San Bernardino Fire Department.
The jeep went off the dirt road and tumbled about 100 feet down the hill, Mascis said.
At some point, the vehicle might have rolled over the man. Initial reports that he was pinned under the jeep turned out to be false, Mascis said.
The man initially remained on the phone with dispatchers, telling them he had injured his leg and helping guide rescuers to his location. Two San Bernardino County sheriff’s helicopters responded, one to search for the man and the other for emergency transport. Crews tracked the man’s location using a GPS signal on his phone.
Fire crews arrived about five minutes after dispatchers lost communication with the man, Mascis said.
He was unconscious when rescue personnel found him about 12:30 p.m. Crews performed CPR and hoisted him into a helicopter. He was flown to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he died, Mascis said.
The man’s name will be released when his relatives are notified. Mascis said he appeared to be in his late 50s or early 60s. No one else was in the vehicle.
http://www.pe.com/articles/jeep-756807-bernardino-san.html
