Woman rescued after 300 foot plunge off side of Angeles Crest Highway

A woman was saved on Friday after she plunged 300 feet off the side of the Angeles Crest Highway, according to authorities. 

It happened sometime in the afternoon near Mile Marker 28 above Pasadena, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies told CBS News Los Angeles. 

Deputies say that they were only alerted of the crash because of an electricity crew working at the same spot in the canyon. Crew members saw her fall and called 911. 

"They took one of their workers and went down and were trying to help this person," said LASD Sergeant John Gilbert. 

When they realized they were unable to provide the help she needed, they made the call. 

It was a 20-person rescue operation, complicated by power lines directly over the spot where the woman's car finally came to a stop. 

"Some people can be there for many hours or sometimes days, without anyone knowing they were over the side," Gilbert said. 

After they loaded the woman into a basket in order to clear the power lines, they were able to hoist her up via helicopter, deputies said. However, while the rescue was underway, one of the rescuers suffered their own medical emergency when he was stung by a bee and had an allergic reaction. 

This required a second aerial hoist rescue, deputies said. 

"There are bees and hornets up there in the ANF, and if you're at the wrong place at the wrong time, they let you know you shouldn't be there in the worst way," Gilbert said. "These things do happen in rescue work. ... Thankfully, we were able to adapt and overcome and get everyone home safe."

He credits the successful operation to a wide range of cooperating agencies, including Los Angeles County Fire, Air Rescue 5, Pasadena Police Department and Search and Rescue teams from Altadena and Montrose. 

Deputies said that both the woman who fell and the first responder are expected to recover from the emergencies they underwent on Friday.