He Crawled Miles for 11 Hours. Buddy Never Left His Side

A Utah man is recovering after surviving a harrowing ordeal in the Uinta Mountains, where his off-road vehicle tumbled off a cliff, flipping an estimated 15 to 20 times. Jacob "Jake" Schmitt, a native of Buffalo, New York, who now lives in Ogden, was hunting with his dog, Buddy, when the accident occurred, leaving him with a broken leg, fractured ankles, broken ribs, and numerous bruises, reports People. With his phone lost and only a small light on Buddy's collar for illumination, Schmitt splinted his leg using debris and duct tape, then crawled and dragged himself for miles over the course of 11 hours through the night.

Buddy, who escaped the wreck unscathed, stayed by Schmitt's side, providing companionship and, with the collar light, enough visibility to navigate the rugged terrain. By daybreak, Schmitt managed to reach his truck and drive to a nearby diner, where he asked staff to call 911, per FOX 13. After being transported to Park City Hospital, Schmitt was reunited with Buddy. "I couldn't have done it without him," Schmitt tells KSL, crediting his 6-year-old German shorthaired pointer as a motivating presence throughout the ordeal. He described the experience as a constant mental struggle: "Either I die here, or I figure out how to keep going." A GoFundMe campaign launched to help cover Schmitt's medical expenses has raised $20,000.