A lucky driver walked away from a hair-raising highway accident on Monday that left his truck lying at the bottom of an 80-foot embankment.

The truck's lone occupant told police he was driving northbound up a hill on Criss Creek Road off the end of Tranquille Road just after 3 p.m.

Coming around a corner, he came face-to-face with a red and black Honda Civic "crowding" the centre of the road, according to rural RCMP Staff Sgt. Doug Aird.

To avoid a head-on crash, the truck pulled to the right shoulder, which caused his side mirror to hit a power pole.

The driver then went over a steep, 25-metre embankment, narrowly missed a large rock and tree stump and came to rest against a tree about 90 metres away down the steep incline.

Despite the potential for serious harm, the only injury the driver sustained was to his shoulder.

He managed to make his way back up to the road and called police.  

The driver of the Honda did not stop.

"(The driver) may not have been aware the truck had gone over the steep embankment," said Aird.