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APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz. (KSAZ) - In what is the third off-road rescue on State Route 88 within the last two weeks, eight people survived when their SUV dropped off the road and slid down a 100 foot embankment into the water below.
Patients ranging from 16 to 18 years old were involved. Two survivors were taken by helicopter to local trauma hospitals, two were taken by ambulance to a local hospital, and the remaining four teenagers sustained only minor injuries.
Rural Metro Fire Department was unable to help the patients alone. A First Alarm Technical Rescue Team was requested, and then more fire departments were dispatched for help.
At this time, there is no information as to why the vehicle went off the roadway.
SR88, or Apache Trail, starts in Apache Junction and takes drivers to Canyon Lake, Apache Lake, and eventually ends at Roosevelt Lake and connects to State Route 188.
The Superstition Fire Department and Medical District wants to remind everyone to use extreme caution when traveling on SR88 because it is a narrow, two-lane dirt road that consists of many curves and no guardrails in many areas.
Also, there are no services along this road and cell service is limited.