What started as an ordinary drive home quickly became a night Jazmin Harrington will never forget, as she became stranded on the side of a cliff for hours until being found. On August 8, 2024, Harrington was driving home from her shift at the Lower Tavern in Orcas Island, Washington. It was the middle of the night, and it was usually a 20-minute journey to her home, along windy and tight roads.
However, when she was mere minutes away from her house, a deer ran down the hillside and changed the course of Harrington’s life forever. She told Newsweek that the “last image” she recalls was the deer running head-first into her lane, causing Harrington, 33, to swerve off the edge of the cliff. This led to a seven-hour wait for rescuers to find her, throughout which she did her best to remain calm.
When she did not return home, Harrington’s partner filed a missing person’s report and her friends rallied to search for her. All the while, she had faith that her loved ones would be looking for her and someone would spot her on the cliffside eventually. Deep down I knew I wasn’t going to be stuck down there forever, and I knew someone was coming to get me,” she said.
I was actually parallel to him across the bay (called Massacre Bay oddly enough) which is about a mile wide. He called the sheriff (who had already been out looking for me) and found me within 30 to 40 minutes.” During the seven hours, adrenaline was coursing through Harrington and it kept the pain at bay. She even managed to climb 30 feet up the hill to get closer to the road, despite her extensive injuries.
Once she was eventually discovered, she was transported to the nearest hospital via helicopter. But as her injuries were so severe, Harrington was then transferred to a larger hospital in Seattle. Harrington’s left leg was “shattered” in the tibia and fibula, she also fractured her hip and clavicle, fractured part of her lower spine, had a punctured lung and wounds on her head and ear which required stitches.
Following two surgeries on her leg, Harrington left the hospital a month later. However, she sadly had to return due to complications, leading to an additional five surgeries, including a skin flap taken from her back to save the skin and muscle along her shin. She said: “Healing a skin flap is so intense and painful, I don’t wish it on anyone.
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