Article:

A 19-year-old man was rescued by firefighters after the car he was driving plunged about 300 feet off a cliff and into the ocean. The man, listed in critical condition, apparently told authorities that he crashed on purpose. Reggie Kumar reports from Palos Verdes Estates for Today in LA on Friday, Dec. 27, 2013. (Published Friday, Dec. 27, 2013) 
  
 A 19-year-old man who crashed his car down a 300-foot cliff may have been trying to kill himself, police said. 
  
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 Surf Slams Firefighters in Cliff Crash Rescue 
  
 Firefighters rescue a driver who crashed off a cliff and into heavy surf below Palos Verdes Estates. (Published Friday, Dec. 27, 2013) 
  
 Firefighters risked their lives as they pulled the man out of his trapped vehicle as it was being lashed by waves. 
  
 The rescue happened at 2 a.m. Friday at the Bluff Cove (map) area of Palos Verdes Estates, about 25 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles. 
  
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 Waves slammed into the car, rocking it back and forth, as rescue personnel attempted to reach the driver. No one else was in the car. 
  
 The man was airlifted him to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center where he was listed in critical condition. 
  
 A fire captain said the act was intentional. ||||| A man was hospitalized after being rescued from a car that plunged off a cliff in Palos Verdes Estates and landed in the ocean early Friday morning, authorities said. 
  
 The incident happened in the 1300 block of Paseo Del Mar around 2 a.m. 
  
 After receiving reports of a vehicle over a cliff, officers responded and found a small compact car in the water, about 300 feet below the cliff, according to Palos Verdes Estates police. 
  
 The driver, identified only as a 19-year-old man from Rolling Hills Estates, was able to get rescuers’ attention by moving a light, possibly a cellphone, authorities said. 
  
 It took emergency personnel about an hour and a half to rescue the driver, who became unconscious, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. 
  
 A helicopter was brought in to hoist the man out of the car and transport him to the hospital, officials said. His exact condition was not known, but he was awake and talking to officers at the hospital, police said. 
  
 The man said he drove off the cliff on purpose, according to paramedics; however, investigators did not immediately confirm that information. 
  
 Workers were using a tow truck to pull the vehicle out of the water – a task that was expected to take approximately eight hours, Sgt. Luke Hellinga said. 
  
 The Palos Verdes Estates Police Department was investigating the incident. 
  
 KTLA’s Erin Myers and Juan Flores contributed to this report. ||||| A man was in "extremely critical condition" after driving over a cliff early Friday morning in Palos Verdes Estates, falling at least 100 feet in the car onto the Bluff Cove shoreline. 
  
 Authorities were called at 2:03 a.m. about the wreck and "found him over the side on the shoreline," according to Ed Pickett of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. 
  
 Pickett said it took about an hour and 20 minutes to get the man, who he described as being in "extremely critical condition," out of the car. 
  
 Television images showed waves crashing into firefighters trying to extricate the man, who had to be hoisted up to the top of the hill and into a helicopter. Lifeguards were called in to assist in the rescue effort. 
  
 The driver of the car was not immediately identified, but KTLA-TV reported that he's approximately 19 years old and that some witnesses said it seemed as though he drove over the cliff intentionally. 
  
 Pickett said it's unclear what caused the man to drive over the cliff, but that an investigation was ongoing. 
  
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What is a summary?
– A pretty amazing rescue story out of Southern California, where a 19-year-old driver went over a 300-foot cliff and onto the shoreline of the ocean—and survived. Rescue crews arrived at the scene in Palos Verdes Estates, located just south of Los Angeles, around 2am today. Waves smashed into the car as the rescuers (area police, firefighters, and lifeguards) attempted to reach it, apparently aided by a small light, possibly from a cellphone, that the driver was able to shine; it took them 90 minutes to get to him, reports KTLA. The then-unconscious male was removed from the car and airlifted to a medical center, where he is in what the Los Angeles Times reports is "extremely critical condition." Police are investigating whether it was a suicide attempt, with a fire captain telling NBC LA that the man said "he did this on purpose."