Trapped Down a Ravine: YHFD Executes Complex Low-Angle Rope Rescue on Route 129

Yorktown, NY - Twelve Yorktown Heights volunteer firefighters executed a demanding technical low-angle rope extrication on Sunday, September 27, 2026, after a passenger vehicle careened down a steep embankment along NYS Route 129 between Underhill Avenue and the Taconic State Parkway overpass.

Operating concurrently with the Hudson River deployment, Car 2532, Engine 272, Rescue 16, and Utility 36 rushed to the scene to find a vehicle wedged deep down the drop-off with a single occupant heavily trapped inside. Responders rapidly anchored a rope-haul system, lowering rescue personnel down the slippery, storm-soaked slope to establish patient contact and begin medical assessment.

At the base of the ravine, crews stabilized the precarious wreckage using a manual grip hoist to prevent the car from rolling further. Firefighters then deployed hydraulic rescue tools to rip the driver's door free, liberating the trapped occupant. With the patient immobilized in a rescue basket, crews operated the low-angle haul line to hoist the victim "topside" to waiting EMS paramedics for treatment and transport.

The technical scene was subsequently transferred to the Yorktown Police Department for collision investigation.