Canadian tourist drives off 60-foot cliff in Hawaii, survives

A Canadian tourist visiting Hawaii walked away nearly unscathed after he drove off a 60-foot cliff on the Big Island and fell into the ocean early Sunday morning.

The unidentified man, 27, was driving along restricted backroads near the South Point cliff dive with a rented Jeep when the vehicle plunged off the cliff at around 3:30 a.m., according to local reports.

The rental got stuck upside down on the rocks below, and when the tourist crawled out he fell directly into the water below him and was quickly swept away, Island News reported.

Luckily for him, local spear-fishermen often camp out on the beach overnight to begin fishing at the crack of dawn and a few who were there that morning witnessed the Jeep’s — and then the man’s — fall.

They quickly called 911, and first responders were able to bring the man to safety by coaching him from the shore.

One of the fishermen who witnessed the rescue said he and his dive partner were woken up by another fisherman whom the Jeep driver nearly hit when he drove off the cliff.

“He said that the car had gone off the cliff just to the right of him,” Mike Moody told the local outlet.

The fisherman immediately called 911.

“If he didn’t see it, the guy would have died 100%,” Moody told KHON2.

He said that the Jeep was flipped completely upside down and the driver’s side door was blocked.

“The driver’s side was jammed up with a rock so he couldn’t get out. Obviously, it was upside down on the roof so he was upside down and hanging right over the water on the passenger side,” Moody told Island News.

“He probably had no idea there’s water underneath him. He just opened the door and the kid said he had just fallen straight out into the water.”

The Canadian was able to swim to safety despite the steep fall and strong current with the help of first responders.

“He was floating on his back 80 feet from shore, we coached him in and he swam to a safe area,” Hawaii Island Fire Chief Kazuo Todd told KHON2.

From there, firefighters used a rope to pull him to shore.

He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor facial injuries, scratches and mild hypothermia.

Rental vehicles are not supposed to be driven on the stretch of cliffside dirt roads where the man drove off due to poor conditions and limited cell surface, according to the local station.

A fisherman said the roads are “super dangerous on [that] side of the island.”

“And if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can get yourself in pretty big trouble,” the fisherman named Jason told Island News.