PHOTOS: Driver unhurt after vehicle plunges about 40 feet down embankment

A driver escaped injury after a vehicle crashed down a steep embankment Sunday, June 7, prompting an extensive rescue operation. According to a Facebook post from Fairview Volunteer Fire and Rescue , crews were dispatched to a motor vehicle accident Sunday night and arrived to find a single vehicle approximately 40 feet down a steep embankment against a tree. News 13 has reached out for information on where the crash occurred. Fire officials said the driver, who was the vehicle’s sole occupant, was not injured in the crash but was unable to safely climb the steep terrain to reach the roadway. Rescuers used chainsaws to clear a path through thick brush before deploying ropes, rigging equipment and a rescue basket to bring the driver up the embankment and back to the roadway, according to the department. Once at the road, the driver was evaluated by paramedics. The driver told responders they were unharmed and declined transportation to a hospital, the department said. Fairview Volunteer Fire and Rescue said the steep terrain and surrounding trees could have contributed to a much more serious outcome. “This could have been a much different outcome, and we are thankful that the driver was uninjured,” the Facebook post read, in part.