60-Year-Old Cyclist Survives Nearly 80-Foot Plummet off Carpinteria Bluffs

Paramedics rescued a 60-year-old cyclist who plummeted 70-80 feet off the Carpinteria Bluffs north of Rincon Beach on Sunday, December 11, according to a statement from the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District.

The man, whose identity has not been released, was reportedly riding his bike along the trail near the railroad tracks between Bates Beach and Carpinteria Pier on Sunday afternoon when his bike struck a rock and sent him tumbling off the cliff to the beach below, where he landed in a sandy spot between large rocks. There he remained — conscious but unable to move — for about one hour before a female pedestrian walking on the beach heard his cries for help and called first responders.

At around 5 p.m., paramedics from Carpinteria-Summerland Fire and AMR Ambulance responded to the scene. There, they began treating the man before transporting him to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured back. No further information is available at this time.

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