A driver and the lone occupant of a car had to be rescued Thursday afternoon after his vehicle went down a steep embankment on Nanaimo's Lost Lake Rd. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

rope rescue

‘Very lucky:’ car rolls down steep embankment on Nanaimo’s Lost Lake Rd.

Nov 27, 2025 | 4:31 PM

NANAIMO — One person had to be extricated from their vehicle after rolling down an embankment and coming to rest on its roof.

Rope rescue teams with Nanaimo Fire Rescue were called to Lost Lake Rd., midway between Tanya Dr. and Blue Jay Trail, just after 3 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27, following reports of a vehicle leaving the roadway and going down a steep embankment.

Acting NFR Cpt. Chris Cunning said the original call was for a vehicle versus a deer, but instead found a vehicle roughly 20 feet down when they arrived.

“Car ended up landing on its roof against a couple of fir trees. Patient was conscious, stable. We had engine three and our squad two come to do an extrication. Got him out….on a spine board, and he’s going to be off to the hospital in stable condition.”

NFR used ropes to secure the vehicle in place. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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Cunning said the driver and lone occupant was conscious and trying to contact emergency services, but was unable to get reception on his cell phone.

“The danger factor could have been a lot higher if the trees weren’t there and the way the car was placed. Very lucky, the compartment of the car was in good shape. Unfortunately, we are in an area of bad reception, and he was decreased LOC (level of consciousness) as well, but right now he’s stable.”

Cuning said his crew did great work stabilizing the vehicle in place for a rope rescue to get the man out of the vehicle and into an ambulance.

He said they did not locate any deer, living or deceased, during the vehicle extraction.

Firefighters work to extricate and rescue the driver of a vehicle which crashed over an embankment on Lost Lake Rd. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

(Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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