UPDATE: SUV Drives Off Cliff; Woman Injured

A 20-year-old woman was transported via helicopter to a local hospital with minor injuries Monday after an sports utility vehicle she was operating veered off a cliff in Brentwood, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The accident occurred in the 12000 block of Mountaingate Drive at approximately 2:21 p.m.

"This incident could have been much worse and we are thankful there were only minor injuries," said LAFD spokesman Erik Scott.

Units from Fire Station 109, as well as other fire department ground and air units responded to the scene. First reports state the vehicle was 400 feet down a hillside. Scott said the woman was the only person in the vehicle.

LAFD's helicopter pilots and firefighters routinely respond to and regularly train for similar incidents, Scott noted, thus Monday's accident was a quick and successful hoist operation. First arriving firefighters rapidly decended the mountain on foot to stabilize, comfort and treat the woman, then assisted in the hoist into the helicopter. 

Los Angeles Police Department Public Information Officer Sara Faden told Patch a passerby notified authorites they saw an SUV go off a hill north of Sepulveda Boulevard and south of the 405 Freeway southbound entrance. Shortly after 4 p.m., Faden said investigators from West Traffic Division were just getting to the scene. She said the vehicle driven was a Porsche Cayenne.

The accident is under investigation. Approximately 10 engines and trucks, three ambulances, two helicopters and an urban search and rescue team responded to the scene Monday.

- City News Service contributed to this report.

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