Family of three miraculously survive after their Jeep flips more than 20 times down a steep ski slope while they were off-roading



A New Jersey man is critically injured after he apparently lost control of his Jeep while he was off-roading with his wife and 6-year-old son inside and the vehicle tumbled down a steep ski slope, flipping at least 20 times on the way down.

The driver, Michael Fertitta, 39, was found unconscious and trapped inside the mangled SUV when rescuers arrived. He is in critical condition at Morristown Medical Center. His wife, Kelly, 43, and son have been released from the hospital with minor injuries.

After the crash, the wife managed to crawl out of the vehicle and she immediately began looking for the couple's son, who had been ejected from his car seat in the rear of the 2007 Jeep Wrangler, according to the New Jersey Herald .

Horror: This Jeep Wrangler tumbled 500 feet down a New Jersey mountain ski trail with a married couple and their 6-year-old son inside

A man who witnessed the 4:29 p.m. crash from nearby Minerals Golf Resort ran up the mountain, located the boy and carried him back down to a four-wheel drive emergency response vehicle.

The woman was then located by first responders and transported down the mountain with while first responders worked to remove Fertitta from the Jeep.



The steep slope where the crash occurred is part of the Mountain Creek Ski Resort in Vernon Township, New Jersey, where the couple lives.

Police said the vehicle had been traveling on the Tennessee Gas Pipeline trail when the driver tried to traverse down an embankment that was too steep.

Terrifying: The Jeep tumbled down this ski slope, which is the steepest on of the Mountain Creek Resort's trails, trapping the driver inside

Bill Benneyan, president of the resort, told the Herald that the slope is a 'double-black diamond, super-expert ski trail.'

The vehicle eventually came to a rest against some boulders after its long tumble down 500 meters of the mountain.