An Indiana mother of three miraculously survived practically every week trapped in her automotive — through the use of her sweatshirt to drink water — after she’d fallen asleep on the wheel and crashed right into a ditch.
Brieonna Cassell, 41, was discovered Tuesday caught in her Ford Taurus in a ditch about 80 miles exterior of Chicago, the place the automotive had develop into partially submerged in a streambed and was utterly invisible from the roadway above.
“She was in excruciating ache, she was screaming out for assist,” her father, Delmar Caldwell, instructed WLS after the unimaginable rescue. “She might hear vehicles going by, however they couldn’t see her from the street.”
It had been six days since Cassell was final seen — she’d pushed off from her mom’s home to go to buddies however by no means arrived.
Her household rapidly notified police, and the Jasper County Sheriff’s workplace started posting lacking individuals posters and looking out in useless for the mother of three.
Then on Tuesday a drainage employee was working tools within the city of Brooks and got here throughout a Ford Taurus smashed up within the ditch — and when his supervisor arrived they discovered Cassell alive and awake inside.
“‘That’s you?’ I mentioned, ‘Your loved ones’s been searching for you,’ I mentioned, ‘There are posts in every single place on social media.’ I mentioned, ‘I can’t consider you’ve been on this lengthy,’” mentioned supervisor Jeremy Vanderwall.
Cassell was pulled from the automotive and airlifted to a Chicago hospital, and particulars of her harrowing ordeal started to emerge.
“She had [fallen] asleep and veered off the street and went into a really massive, deep ditch. It couldn’t be seen from the street,” her father instructed reporters.
The wreck had additionally left Cassell with extreme leg accidents and pinned beneath the steering wheel, stopping her from climbing out of the automotive to security, CNN reported.
Nighttime temperatures dropped into the 20s as she fought to maintain calm — and along with her cellphone useless, she was compelled to get artistic to remain alive.
“She was utilizing her hoodie and wringing it to get a drink of water, attempting to outlive,” her father mentioned, explaining how Cassell spent the lengthy days dipping her sweatshirt into the creek and ingesting down no matter water it absorbed.
“She did what she might to outlive,” mentioned her mom, Kim Brown. “I’m so glad she was discovered alive, and I simply can’t wait to hug her and kiss her.”
Cassell is present process surgical procedure within the ICU Wednesday for accidents she suffered to her wrist, ribs, and legs.
Whereas she is prone to shedding her legs, she is predicted to in any other case recuperate.
“It’s going to be a protracted street to restoration,” her father mentioned. “Don’t lose hope. Don’t hand over. We had thought the worst. It had gone by our minds so many occasions, however thank God.”
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