Calaveras County – A 68-year-old Jackson woman suffered moderate injuries when her vehicle “cartwheeled” over the side of Highway 49 and into the Mokelumne River gorge Monday afternoon, stopped by further sliding down the slope by some small trees. About a dozen emergency vehicles responded to the scene on Highway 49, a quarter-mile south of the Mokelumne River bridge at about 12:45 p.m. The California Highway Patrol’s Calaveras Unit reported that Marvell Herren, 68, of Jackson, was driving south in a 2005 Toyota Matrix when “for an unknown reason she allowed her vehicle to leave the roadway,” roll down the gorge and come “to rest on its roof approximately 100 feet from the roadway.” CHP said “due to her injuries and the rugged terrain, a basket and ropes were used to pull (Herren) up to the roadway.” Herren suffered moderate injuries and “her small dog, Teddy survived the collision unhurt.” Six Calfire crew members climbed down the embankment with ropes to put Herren in a wire stretcher and carry her up to the road. CHP said “seatbelt usage was instrumental in preventing serious injury or death.” Herren was suspended upside-down in her seatbelt after the crash. The first person coming to her aid was a Santa Rosa man, Neil Cooper, who said he had been vacationing the last 4 days, hiking and collecting rocks at the Mokelumne River. He said he had just parked his vehicle 5 minutes before, and was preparing to go on another hike when he saw the Herren’s red Toyota “cartwheel over the side of the road.” He said the front right tire went over the curb, slipped in gravelly dirt and the vehicle drove over the curb, rolled once sideways onto its top, and then swiveled around and slid on its top into some trees. Cooper said he ran to the woman’s aid as quickly as he could get there, cutting his shins as he fought through blackberry thickets toward the vehicle. Cooper said the airbag deployed and the woman was hanging in her seatbelt. She was awake and alert and knew her name. About 30 minutes later, Cooper watched from Highway 49 as rescuers used a chainsaw to cut away limbs from the trees that suspended the Toyota, before removing Herren from the vehicle and the gorge. Responders included Calfire units from San Andreas and Sutter Hill, California Highway Patrol and the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office. She was treated and released from Sutter Amador Hospital. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.