A glamorous Australian woman was left fighting for her life after kissing a man at the top of a cliff and then plummeting 11 meters to the bottom in Croatia.
Ella Cutler, 25, was with a 34-year-old man near the old city wall of Pile in Dubrovnik in the early hours of August 26 when they fell.
Police confirmed that the couple had been leaning against the wall kissing and that they were under the influence of alcohol at the time.
Mrs Cutler suffered a series of serious injuries in the fall, including fractures to her skull, spine, limbs, twelve broken ribs and punctured lungs.
She was taken to hospital in critical condition and remains in a coma. The man was treated for a broken leg and is recovering.
Ms Cutler’s family in Western Australia are struggling to raise the money to bring her home, with the total cost reaching $500,000.
The 25-year-old is a police officer who had the holiday of a lifetime before it was disastrously cut short.
One of Mrs. Cutler’s three brothers, Joshua, has one GoFundMe to help pay the large medical bill for flying Ella home to Western Australia.
Ella Cutler, 25, was with a 34-year-old man at the old city wall of Pile in Dubrovnik in the early hours of August 26 when they fell
“Anyone who knows her will tell you about her calm and gentle energy, her love for furry creatures large and small, her selflessness in helping people, and her ability to make everyone she meets feel special,” he said .
“We can only imagine how scared she would be if she knew the full extent of her injuries, and we can’t even begin to explain how scared we are for her and how important it is for her to come home.”
“She still has too much work to do, too many people to help, and too much love to give for this chapter to end. She has a long, difficult road ahead of her and she will need all the help she can get. From doctors, family, friends, colleagues and you.
“The world doesn’t have enough Ellas, and it needs her.”
Ms Cutler’s medical costs already amount to $100,000, and an air ambulance to take her back to Australia will cost another $400,000.
“She will need many more months of care, multiple surgeries and months of physical rehabilitation before she can impact the world as she once did,” her brother wrote.
“She can’t do this alone, and neither can we.”
Ms Cutler is now in an induced coma after suffering fractures to her skull, spine, limbs and ribs
The area where the couple were enjoying a night before the tragic accident is located above (left) on the coast of the Croatian port of Dubrovnik, a tourist mecca in the summer, especially for Australians
Mr Cutler thanked the doctors and nurses who cared for his sister while she was abroad, with the police officer now receiving care in a larger hospital with better facilities.
The fundraiser has raised more than $96,000 in donations to date.
The wall from which the The couple are said to have fallen is a popular selfie spot and is located between two forts, Lovrijenac and Bokar.
Andrijana Biskup, from the Dubrovnik-Neretva police, confirmed that the couple were hugging or kissing when the fall occurred and said alcohol may have played a role.
The local hospital confirmed that blood alcohol tests showed the man had a reading of 0.2 – four times the legal driving limit in Australia – while the woman had a reading of 0.3, or six times the legal driving limit.
The couple were said to have been on a night out at the time of the accident in Dubrovnik’s Old Town, which is packed with tourists every summer.