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Man who stopped to help driver on a 450-foot-high California bridge falls to his death

The man was trying to help a pickup driver who crashed. As he tried to jump out of the way of oncoming vehicles, he fell to his death.
Image; Car collision
Wrecked cars at the scene of an accident on the Pine Valley Creek Bridge where a man jumped to his death to avoid a car collision.NBC 7

A man fell to his death from a California bridge after he stopped to help a pickup driver who crashed early Wednesday morning.

The man, who has yet to be identified, fell to the bottom of Pine Valley Creek about an hour east of San Diego. He sustained fatal injuries, according to California Highway Patrol.

A driver in a Ford F-150 crashed on the Pine Valley Creek Bridge at around 5:13 a.m. local time, blocking the left, westbound lane. Another driver got out of his Subaru Outback and was trying to assist the pickup truck driver when three other cars crashed trying to avoid the Ford.

Image: Pine Valley Creek Bridge
Traffic moves along the Pine Valley Creek Bridge where a man jumped to his death to avoid a car collision, a fall of approximately 400 feet according to California Highway Patrol.NBC 7

In an attempt to avoid the crashing vehicles, the man who stopped to help ran to the south edge of the bridge and jumped over the bridge rail, according to the highway patrol. He fell to his death.

The man's body was found in a snow-covered canyon under the Pine Valley Creek Bridge by a chopper that was weaving through support beams during the search, NBC-owned station NBC San Diego reported.

Authorities are still working to recover the man's body, according to the highway patrol.

Other victims involved in the crash, including a 4-month-old infant, sustained minor injuries, according to NBC San Diego.

The Pine Valley Creek Bridge is 450-feet high, making it one of the country's largest bridges.

The conditions were foggy, dark and icy at the time of the crash, authorities said.