On the morning of Wednesday, February 12, a Gualala man was on his way to see his children in the Bay Area when he was blinded by the morning sun and it caused him to miss a curve on Highway 1 near the city of Fort Ross.

76-year-old Daniel Boicelli was driving a white Mini Cooper along Highway 1 when he missed a curve that put him and his vehicle into the bottom of a deep ravine.

16-year-old David Estrada, who was on his way to school at El Molino High School, witnessed the car enter the ravine. After getting over his initial shock he remembered what he had learned when he participated in an emergency training program with the fire department in his hometown of Timber Cove.

Because of the lack of cell phone service in the area, Estrada flagged down other motorists to have them notify the police of the accident. After doing that Estrada pulled Boicelli out and kept him calm until help could arrive.

The ravine where Boicelli’s car ended up was dense and overgrown with poison oak, and it was extremely steep which made airlifting him from the ravine the only plausible solution.

Boicelli, who suffered from a pre-conditioning injury was previously paralyzed, so the team had to use a backboard and basket to retrieve him from the ravine. Once to safety, they transported him to Gualala health for medical treatment of his minor injuries.

Authorities closed one side of the road temporarily to allow for a tow truck with a 400-foot cable to pull Boicelli’s Mini Cooper from the ravine.

Emergency officials credit Estrada for his training and quick thinking in the situation. There is no telling how long Boicelli could have been stuck in the ravine before being spotted by another motorist.

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