AUSTIN — After falling 45 feet off a cliff while vacationing in New Mexico, an officer has finally returned home to Austin.
An officer of 10 years with the Austin Police Department, Tammy Barrett was riding an ATV when she fell off the cliff. Medics flew her to a hospital in El Paso where she underwent a 14-hour surgery. Doctors don't believe she will walk again.
Austin Detective Ken Casaday with the Austin Police Association confirmed to KVUE that Barrett returned to Austin Aug. 15. A police escort took her to St. David's Rehab Hospital.
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Casaday previously told KVUE, "she was gasping for air for six hours and it's just a miracle she's alive."
“It was horrible,” Casaday said. “To see her suffer and to be in that amount of pain. There was not enough medicine they could give her to make her comfortable."
APD wants to buy Barrett a new vehicle for her to get around in and wants to fit her house with Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant doors and ramps.
The community can donate to her fundraiser set up through Austin Cops for Charities.