A man was injured after his vehicle crashed into a ditch near Highway 154 Saturday morning and he left the car and “scurried down” the nearby hillside, Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said. 

The 69-year-old driver ended up after exiting his vehicle and traveling about 200 feet through steep and brushy terrain, Safechuck said. 

At about 5:57 a.m., firefighters and paramedics responded to the abutment footing of the Cold Spring Canyon Bridge. The man had fallen and sustained injuries, Safechuck said.

Crews used a rope system to help him off the hillside.

An AMR ambulance crew transported him to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital with minor to moderate injuries, Safechuck said.

His name and details on his condition were not available.

“California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident. It remains unclear why the patient traveled from the roadside ditch down the hillside to the location where he was found,” he said.

The CHP reported that a vehicle had crashed approximately 10 feet down a ditch, near the bridge. The person got out of the vehicle and “slid down the hill,” according to the CHP incident log.

County Fire and American Medical Response ambulance crews approached the scene from Stagecoach Road, which runs along the canyon below the historic arch bridge. 

Man Found Under Cold Springs Bridge – Hwy 154 Update

Firefighters assisted the 69-year-old male using a rope lowering system to Cold Springs Road below the bridge. The patient was treated and transported by ground ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital with minor to… pic.twitter.com/FRA5J0S7fH

— Scott Safechuck (@SBCFireInfo) December 20, 2025