Woman that drove off of cliff describes days stranded on beach

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Portland woman who went missing in California and eventually found alive days after driving off a cliff is telling her story.

Angela Hernandez wrote a lengthy Facebook post, describing what she remembers from the July 6 crash. Hernandez says she drove off a cliff and into the water and then spent nearly a week on the shore under the cliff waiting to be rescued. 

The next few days kind of became a blur. I’d walk up and down the beach in search of an another human being. I’d climb on rocks to avoid the sharp sand, walk along the shore to avoid the hot rocks, and air wrestle tiny crabs. I found a high spot I was able to climb up to and found myself there almost every day. 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. I’d usually stay there until the sun became unbearable and then would find a way to slide myself back down to the shore.

 Hernandez describes the painful injuries she sustained and then how she was eventually rescued by a couple who came across some of her belongings while camping. 

It was warm out and I finally woke up before the sun had gone down. When I sat up, I saw a woman walking across the shore. I thought she was a dream. (I had a few just like this during the past few days).

I screamed, “HEEELLLPPPPP!” and then got up as quickly as I could and ran over to her. She was with a man and I don’t think they could believe their eyes. They acted so quickly. She ran down the beach and up a trail to go find help while the man stayed with me and gave me fresh water. He told me they were a married couple who loved the ocean and had been exploring when they had come across my destroyed vehicle.