A driver who was nearly crushed after a huge boulder fell on his car in Malibu, California, says he feels lucky to be alive after the scary incident.
Mauricio Henao’s Honda was parked along a hillside in the 20000 block of the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu Tuesday when inclement weather caused a four-foot boulder to slide down the mountain and fall on his car.
Henao said he was in his driver’s seat just before the boulders fell when a call came in urging him to go to his house.
Inside, he said he “only heard loud crashes” before running out and seeing his car being crushed.
The dangerous rockslide comes after massive storms battered Southern California, causing massive flooding and road hazards.
A boulder damaged a car on the Pacific Coastal Highway in Malibu
The boulder slid down the slope of the man’s sedan just above the windshield and smashed completely into the interior of the car.
“The stone is the size of the entire hood,” Henao said in an interview with KTLA. “The windshields are all broken and the frame of the car is just totally twisted.”
The vehicle owner said he was in his parked vehicle preparing to drive away when the slope began to slide.
He said the call came at the best possible time and may have saved his life.
“My girlfriend called me and said, ‘Hey, can you get my bag that I left there,’ so I went back inside and I heard a rumble outside,” Henao told ABC 7.
When he came back outside, he found the devastation he had just avoided.
The debris, including mud, rocks and boulders, spread across four lanes of the infamous road.
Henao took this picture with his vehicle after the boulder fell on his car
The boulder almost completely shattered the interior of the vehicle
Heanao said he just got out of his vehicle to take a call
The phone call to his girlfriend saved his life, says Henao
Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident, but several vehicles in the area were damaged or destroyed.
“A fair amount of rocks came down, but they came from here and they came across the street,” Nick Kennedy, a local resident whose SUV was damaged while parked in his driveway, told LA news channel.
“I’m kind of glad my car was there. I do not know if [the rocks] would have gone through the wall and pinned me because my desk is right on the other side of that wall,” Kennedy continued.
Another vehicle in the same neighborhood suffered a shattered windshield in the incident.
Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident
The steering wheel appeared intact despite the great devastation
One of the vehicle doors could still be opened
The dangerous rockslide came after a massive overnight storm battered southern California, causing massive flooding and road hazards.
Though happy to emerge unharmed, Henao took a selfie with the vehicle.
Despite the smiling picture, the vehicle owner said the incident left him “traumatized”.
“I’m pretty shaken,” Henao said. “Honestly, I don’t think I’ll park here again after that. I’m a little traumatized by this whole ordeal.”
Henao told ABC 7 he feels lucky to be alive, saying, “I feel like I should play the lottery.”
“I feel like I should play the lottery,” Henao said of his luck
Rocks and mud blocked the four-lane roadway after the incident
Another car nearby was damaged by falling rocks and debris
The Malibu event is just one of many in the Los Angeles area and state.
Another Malibu road was blocked after a “large rock” fell on Malibu Canyon Road, completely disrupting the flow of traffic in the area.
The massive storm, caused by a series of atmospheric flows, has resulted in the deaths of 17 people across the state.
A mother and her daughter were rescued from a hole in the ground in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Chatsworth after their vehicle fell into the hole when the road gave way from heavy rain beneath them.
This “big rock” fell directly onto a street in Malibu, completely shutting off access on both sides
This image of the boulder was shared by LA County Public Works
Two cars were swallowed up in the sinkhole, which opened Monday night
The sinkhole has completely closed Iverson Road in Chatsworth