Tourist, 27, accidentally drives his Jeep off a 60ft cliff after taking a wrong turn while off-roading in Hawaii - but somehow survives despite falling from wreckage and being swept out to sea

A tourist accidentally drove his rented Jeep off a 60ft sea cliff after making a wrong turn while ‘off-roading’ on a ‘super dangerous’ dirt road in Hawaii.

Witnesses say the driver,  a 27-year-old Canadian man, is lucky to be alive after he went over a cliff in the South Point area of the Big Island early Sunday morning, fell from the wreckage and was swept out to sea.

The rented Jeep had landed upside down on the rocks below the cliff, apparently pinning the driver’s side door shut, witnesses told KHON 2. The tourist reportedly opened the passenger side door, fell out of the vehicle and washed out to sea.

He managed to swim against the strong current, battling 40 to 50mph winds, and back to the rocks, where firefighters used a technical rope to pull him to safety.

A Coast Guard helicopter transported the man to a nearby hospital and he was treated for facial injuries, scratches, and slight hypothermia. His current condition is unknown.

A tow truck arrived early Monday morning and crews were filmed hoisting the Jeep back over the cliff and removing it from the area.

A tourist accidentally drove his rented Jeep off a 60ft sea cliff after making a wrong turn while ‘off-roading’ on a ‘super dangerous’ dirt road in the South Point area of Hawaii’s Big Island around 3.30am on Sunday. Crews are pictured Monday trying to retrieve the vehicle

He managed to swim against the strong current, battling 40 to 50mph winds, and back to the rocks, where firefighters used a technical rope to pull him to safety. A Coast Guard helicopter transported the man to a nearby hospital and he was treated for facial injuries, scratches, and slight hypothermia. Pictured: A tow truck hoists the Jeep over the cliff on Monday morning

The rented Jeep had landed upside down on the rocks below the cliff, apparently pinning the driver’s side door shut. The tourist reportedly opened the passenger side door, fell out of the vehicle and washed out to sea. Crews are seen trying to recover the vehicle

Mike Moody was woken up around 3.30am Sunday by a fellow fisherman who called 911 after witnessing the tourist drive over the cliff.

Moody, a spear fisherman, said the Jeep was upside and had became snagged on the rocks, prohibiting the man from being able to exit on the driver’s side.

‘His driver side door was locked or pinned by a rock, he couldn’t get out the driver side, so he went to the passenger side of the upside down vehicle and as soon as he opened the door he fell immediately in the water,’ he told the TV station.

It took emergency services about 30 minutes to reach the remote area where the accident occurred. Upon arrival, firefighters coached the man into swimming to a ‘safe area’.

He was ‘floating on his back 80 feet from shore’, Hawaii Island Fire Chief Kazuo Todd said, before he reached a place where it was safe for crews pull him in with ropes.

The traveler told authorities he was in the area to watch the sunrise, but it is understood that the driver had been ‘off-roading’ and was ‘not paying attention to where he was going’ when he drove off the cliff, the chief added.

Rental vehicles are not meant to be driven to the rural South Point area due to ‘poor road conditions’ and limited cell service.

The cliffside road is commonly used by spear fishermen. One told KITV that the rural road can be ‘super dangerous,’ and ‘if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can get yourself in pretty big trouble.’

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