ENCINITAS, Calif. (KGTV) - A North County man is recounting the harrowing moments when he tumbled off a 100-foot bluff in Encinitas.
“I broke my jaw in three places. In a lot of a pain right now,” said Christian Hinnenkamp, 24.
Dealing with a host of injuries, Hinnenkamp is feeling lucky.
“I can't believe I'm alive at all. I still don't know how I am,” said Hinnenkamp.
Eight days ago after grabbing dinner, he and two friends ended up a few blocks south of Moonlight Beach, at the end of E Street.
Hinnenkamp was hoping to show his friends a good view of the water.
New fencing has since gone up, but he says he ignored the “Unstable Cliffs, Stay Back” signs, and walked about eight feet to the edge of the bluff.
He says he lost his footing, and slipped about six feet down, to a flat section, before climbing back up by grabbing plants.
“When I was at the top of the hill, the tree root from the ice plant gave out, and sent me flying backwards,” said Hinnenkamp.
Hinnenkamp calls the moments that followed the scariest of his life.
“I knew I was going to die, honestly. Terrifying," said Hinnenkamp.
He recalls his head slamming into cliff, his body bouncing off the bluff several times, as he tumbled some 100 feet down.
“Flew off the last cliff, in the air for what felt like forever,” said Hinnenkamp.
That last cliff directed him away from a collection of rocks, and face down into the water, where a good Samaritan fished him out.
The fall left him with a litany of injuries, including a collapsed lung, damaged spleen and broken bones in his face and legs.
But Hinnenkamp isn't complaining.
“Just happy to be alive. I’m just thankful I'm here,” said Hinnenkamp.
For beachgoers headed to the water this holiday, he has a message.
“Stay behind the railing. You don't want to end up like me,” said Hinnenkamp.
Although the fall knocked him unconscious, Hinnenkamp believes he's likely alive because he was thrown clear of the rocky floor at the bottom of the cliff.
A Gofundme campaign has been set up to help with medical and other expenses.
