Eagle-eyed chopper crew spots driver hundreds of yards from wrecked car after if flew 200 feet down California cliff

Heart-stopping video footage showed a badly-injured driver being rescued by a helicopter after his truck plunged 200 feet off a California cliff.  

The drama occurred around 8 a.m. on Sunday when the wrecked car's Ford Automatic Crash Notification System bleeped cops to tell them it had crashed, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's office.

It is unclear what caused the crash, but GPS coordinates showed it happened around the Jewell Gulch/Myers Grade area on the famously scenic coastal Highway 1, north of Jenner.

A California State Parks ranger located the destroyed vehicle approximately 200 feet down from the roadway. A large tree had stopped it from rolling further down the cliff.

Video shows the rescuers descending from sheriff's office helicopter 'Henry-1' into the rugged terrain assessing the damage and looking for any victims.

Looking out at the vast terrain near the ocean, one rescuer was able locate the victim while hanging from the longline rescue rope

The Henry-1 Tactical Flight Officer and a Paramedic from the Coast Life Support District used a 100-foot longline rescue to reach the shattered car. 

Its horn could be heard honking repeatedly and a desert boot was visible but there was no sign of its driver.  

Rescuers spent the next 45 minutes searching the area surrounding the car without success, before turning their attention to a nearby ravine. 

Approximately 10 minutes after they broadened their search, the crew spotted a disturbed patch of dirt approximately 300 feet down from the vehicle.

Looking out at the vast terrain near the ocean, one rescuer was able locate the victim while hanging from the longline rescue rope.

'See, I'll point to it. There's like a, you can see where something slid down the ridge,' the rescuer said. 

'I got him, he's down there in the base of those trees,' he said pointing at the patch of dirt from the helicopter. 

The incident occurred around 8 a.m. on Sunday when the victims car plunged 200 feet down a California cliff

The rescuers then made their way to land where they discovered the bloodied driver laying in a patch of brush at the bottom of a tree

The rescuers then made their way to land where they discovered the bloodied driver laying in a patch of brush at the bottom of a tree.

'Hey we got you man,' the rescuer said as he landed. 

The critically injured victim, who has not been identified, was placed into a rescue device and flown to the nearby Sonoma County Fire District helicopter where he was transported to a local trauma hospital.

Thanks to the timely rescue operation, the driver is expected to survive. 

Michelle Lesko-Freese, a 911 operator, commented on the sheriff's office post: 'Thank you Henry1!!!! That was the LONGEST time on the open phone line with the driver, hearing you all find the vehicle made me cry! Happiest sound ever!' 

An investigation into what caused the smash is continuing, with rescuers hailed as heroes over the daring operation.