A driver veered off the Palisades Parkway and down an embankment in Bardonia Tuesday morning, state police say.
It occurred on the ramp from the northbound Palisades Parkway to the northbound New York Thruway around 4:30 a.m.
Two people were inside the car when it went off the road. About an hour and a half later, one of them was able to get out of the car and climb up the embankment to seek help.
Firefighters from Nanuet, Hillcrest and Pearl River departments arrived to safely extract the other person from the car. Both individuals were alert and conscious, but one was airlifted to Hackensack Medical Center.
The crash resulted in the closure of a lane on the ramp, causing traffic backups in both directions on the parkway. The scene was cleared by 8:30 a.m.
State police say the cause of the accident is under investigation.