UNION, Wash. – A 47-year-old man was killed Friday night when he tried to save his SUV from going over the edge of a remote forest service road off Highway 101.

The man, whose identity has not yet been made public, had been driving with his fiance, who was not in the car when it fell.

The woman said she and her companion stopped on the side of the road to enjoy the view, but the ground was soft, so the man decided to move the car to more stable ground.

But the road gave way while he was in the car, and he and the car went down the embankment.

"He'd parked the vehicle. They were out of the vehicle. He looked over and saw it moving a bit. And jumped in to try and save it. And that's when it went over the edge," said rescue worker Jim Nutt. "The brutal part about it is we were told she stood and watched it happen."

The woman called 911 using a cell phone.

SkyKING was first at the scene and found the woman standing on the road, indicating where the car went down the long, steep embankment.

SkyKING

SkyKING spotten the victim's fiancee and helped guide rescue crews to the scene.

A Blackhawk rescue helicopter arrived a short time later and lowered a crew member to the car.

Brandon Heggie, volunteer medic, was the first to be lowered by ropes to the vehicle.

"It was dark and cold, slippery, rocks were sliding out. Trees in the way all around," he said.

The man had been ejected from the SUV. His body was found nearby.

The decision was made to leave the SUV at the bottom of the embankment. They say it's much too dangerous and expensive to try and pull it out.

Rescuers say the woman's cell phone may have saved her life.