Boston Teacher Survives Smashing Into Rocks While Cliff-Jumping in Italy

A Boston preschool teacher’s dream vacation turned into a nightmare after she jumped off a cliff and smashed into jagged rocks on the way down.

Jamie Brotsky, 29, was visiting the coastal region of Italy when the harrowing accident happened at a scenic tourist spot.

“It was the type of jump where you have to run, jump and clear the rocks to make it into the water. And I hesitated, and I knew in that moment, ‘You are about to get hurt,’” Brotsky said. 

After Brotsky bounced off the rocks on the cliffside and landed in the water, medics rushed to her aid. She fractured a vertebrae and shattered both her feet in the fall. But miraculously, she survived. 

When she was flown back to the U.S., doctors feared she might never walk again. Her left foot had to be reconstructed and she still needs more surgery.

Against all odds, Brotsky fought her way back to health. She even went cliff-jumping again — this time in Hawaii.

But that awful day on a cliff in Italy still haunts her. 

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