A 27-year-old man survived after spending six days on nothing but rainwater in a pickup truck crushed beyond recognition in a traffic accident under a highway bridge in Northwest Indiana, police said, as cited by the Associated Press.
The man’s odyssey came to an end on Tuesday afternoon when two men looking for a suitable fishing spot spotted the heavily damaged vehicle with the airbag deployed inside and immediately headed towards it.
“They touched the body and the man turned his head towards them and started talking to them. That at least cheered them up a little (against the sight)”Indiana State Police Sergeant Glenn Finfield told local media.
The truck went off the road on Interstate 94 before a bridge over the Salt Creek River. The guardrail where it happened is missing, and the vehicle likely flipped several times before falling across the small river in a spot not visible from the road above, Fifield said at the news conference.
The injured man, Matthew Ream of Mishawaka, Ind., was freed from the crushed sheet metal Tuesday night by emergency crews, who had to use searchlights because of the darkness. He was then airlifted to a South Bend hospital with life-threatening injuries, the trooper added.
“He made it through the night. He’s alive”Fifield told The Associated Press, but added that as of yesterday morning Ream was still in critical condition.
Mario Garcia, one of the fishermen who found the crashed pickup truck, said the victim was conscious and “very happy” to see his two rescuers after being at the mercy of the elements since December 20.
“I felt like I was going to die from the shock, I was so shocked” that we found him aliveGarcia said at a press conference in the neighboring city of Portage, the Times of Northwest Indiana reported.
Garcia, who is from Hobart, said Ream told them that yelled and screamed for help but could only hear “the quiet sound of the water”.
He also told them that his mobile phone had fallen somewhere and his body was blocked, so he could not call for help.
Fifield said Ream had been put on a wanted list. According to the policeman the victim drank rainwater to survive.
“Had it not been for these two people who were walking along the river that afternoon, this accident would most likely have ended in a completely different outcome. It is a miracle that Ream survived this accident.”the police officer said in a press release.
Source: BTA, Vladimir Sahatchiev
2023-12-28 06:54:00
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