Woman Hospitalized After Car Plunges Off Cliff On State Route 9 Near Saratoga

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SANTA CLARA COUNTY (CBS SF) -- A woman was hospitalized after driving a car off a cliff along State Route 9 west of Saratoga Friday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The woman was headed northbound near Heather Heights Road on a part of the two-lane highway that winds through the mountains north of Mt. Bielaswki when she went off the road at about 11:45 a.m., according to the CHP.

She was able to call 911 and was taken to a hospital after complaining of pain, according to CHP spokesman Officer Ross Lee.

It's unclear how far down the embankment she ended up or how she was able to get back to safety.

The road was closed in both directions at about 12:30 p.m. so that crews operating a wrecker with 50 feet to 100 feet of cable could start trying to pull the woman's red Mitsubishi Lancer back onto the road, Ross said.

The extent of the driver's injuries were unknown early Friday afternoon and it appears she was the only occupant of the car, Ross said.

CHP officers started allowing traffic though the area using one of the lanes at about 1:30 p.m.