Alive 7 days after Driving off Cliff

Headline: "Campers rescue woman who survived for 7 days after veering off California cliff"

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-i...cliff-1.4748564

She used a multitool at hand to bash her way out of the SUV, and survived seven days on water from a nearby creek.

But there was no way to climb back up the cliff.

She was found by a couple who were surfers/adventurers, looking for a fishing spot since the water was not surf-friendly, who lowered themselves down on ropes and spotted the wrecked SUV. Adventurers indeed! The finest kind.

Takeaway #1: The gear you carry may be to help someone else.

Takeaway #2: Beware the details in news stories; the first report I saw (different site) was that she survived by drinking the water out of her radiator. I was pretty sure that was not the case, and that deadly information was being given to readers (people remember things like that, while not understanding the details).

I read the first,"radiator water" account and was puzzled. The fluid in most radiators these days isn't H2O at all; even water in a radiator wouldn't be a very good source.

You definitely need to be somewhat skeptical of news accounts.

The story I read (abc.com) said that she used a hose from her radiator to collect the fresh water dripping from a cliff face.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/disbelief-coup...ory?id=56619521

The story I read mentioned the radiator hose but didn’t mention a water source. I hope people are not dumbed down enough to think radiator hose meant radiator coolant.

Great share.

Yes, that's correct, based on direct interviews with her.

Given her injuries, it's amazing she was able to help herself to the extent she did: "...four fractured ribs, two broken collarbones, a collapsed lung, ruptured blood vessels in both eyes and a brain hemorrhage." She is Exhibit A for Montanero's explanation of the "will to live."

The AP dispatch gives a few additional details:
(republished here: https://edmontonjournal.com/news/world/a...ff-623611865b29 )

“I found a high spot I was able to climb up to and found myself there almost every day,” Hernandez wrote. “I could see cars driving across the cliff and felt like if I could yell just loud enough, that one could hear or see me. That’s all it would take to make it back to my family. Just one person noticing me.”

By the third day, Hernandez’s jeans were torn, her socks had holes and she knew she was dehydrated. She made her way back to her car and found a 10-inch radiator hose that had fallen from the car during the crash.

“I walked farther south down the beach than I ever had before and heard a dripping sound,” she wrote on Facebook. “I looked up and saw a huge patch of moss with water dripping down from it. I caught the water in my hands and tasted it. It was fresh!!!!”

There was also a note somewhere (I lost track) about her trying to retrieve a gallon of water stashed in the Jeep, but she couldn't get to it.

It's a shame she couldn't get a piece of mirror from her vehicle to flash at the cars she could see driving by. That might have tipped things in her favour earlier on.

But honestly, I'm not sure I would have fared so well given those injuries. Hats off to her!