'It's a miracle:' Driver plummets down cliff in Malibu, survives with only cuts and bruises

MALIBU, Calif. (KABC) -- A man who drove off a road in Malibu and plummeted down a cliff managed to escape with only a few scratches.

Emeka Nwokolo was driving in the rain Thursday along Mulholland Highway when he heard a noise and suddenly lost control of the car, plunging several feet down a mountainside. The car landed on its roof, trapping him inside the wreckage for more than an hour.

"I was there struggling, trying to find my way out and (there was) no way I could come outside," Nwokolo said.

He managed to kick open a rear door. Then, using a pair of scissors to dig into the soil for support, he made his way up the muddy mountainside.

He flagged down a driver, who called the police, and emerged nearly unscathed.

Nwokolo has since returned to the area to hike down and retrieve his phone and other belongings from his car, but he says he's grateful to have survived.

"It's a miracle, it's something like a second chance at life for me."