(U.S. Coast Guard)
A sightseer got caught in high seas off the coast of northern California on the morning of January 26 and had to be rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard…from his truck.
The unidentified man had driven his Nissan pickup onto a jetty guarding the entrance to Humboldt Bay, just outside the city of Eureka. The area was under a National Weather Service advisory due to a swell that was creating surf heights of up to 27 feet and spectacular breakers, which were apparently what drew him to the popular vantage point.
Local photographer Tyler Whiteside was there for the same reason and captured the incident on video, which shows waves crashing over the jetty and swamping the truck as the driver continues further out into the ocean.
A ditch in the road finally proves to be impassable, but before he can make his way back to land, the waves begin slamming the truck against the wall running along the side of the path. Despite the danger, the driver exits the vehicle to assess the situation, then reenters, only to be bashed against the wall again.
(Google Maps)
Fortunately for him, it all went down just a half-mile from the local U.S. Coast Guard station, which received an emergency call about the potential tragedy unfolding and sent a boat and helicopter to the rescue. The man was then airlifted off of the jetty and escaped without injury, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The truck was left behind and recovered later in the day when the treacherous conditions subsided.
Although the non-amphibious vehicle reportedly had Arkansas license plates, a U.S Coast Guard spokesman tells Fox News that the driver was from California. He will not be charged for the cost of the rescue since he was in legitimate distress and not intentionally perpetrating a hoax.