Driver fleeing car collision on Bay Bridge jumps off railing, and survives

In a scene one might expect to see in a movie, a man trying to escape his involvement in a car wreck on the Bay Bridge between Oakland and San Francisco Thursday climbed onto the railing and jumped, the California Highway Patrol said.

The man had been involved in a two-car crash on eastbound Interstate 80 around 2 p.m., said CHP spokesperson Mark Andrews.

The man, described as between 20 and 30 years old, climbed onto the bridge railing and plunged into the water below, where he began backstroking toward the west portion of the bridge, the CHP said.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the man around 2:45 p.m.

Andrews said it was "definitely unusual" for a driver to jump off a bridge after a collision and he'd never seen it happen before. The driver suffered broken ribs from the impact with the water and was being evaluated at a hospital.

Authorities did not disclose whether the man was arrested.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .