Driver leaves couple trapped in Jeep after it tumbles down NC embankment

A couple were trapped in a Jeep for more than eight hours on Thursday after it ran off a North Carolina road and fell more than 25 feet down an embankment, authorities said.

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The Granite Falls Police Department said three people were inside the 2009 Jeep Liberty when it tumbled downhill about 6 a.m. The driver managed to get out and said he was going for help, but never returned.

Jason Dietz, 32, and Kristen Hardee, 31, both from Hudson, said they had no idea what happened until 3 p.m. when they woke up inside the overturned Jeep, police said. They managed to force their way out and get help.

Police said the couple were not seriously injured and did not have to be hospitalized.

The Jeep was pulled up later Thursday from the embankment along Executive Park Drive off U.S. 321. Police are still working to identify the driver. The couple only knew the acquaintance as “Shawn.”

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