A missing mother-of-three was found alive six days after crashing her car in a ditch in what authorities call an “incredible testament to her will to live.”
Brieonna Cassell, 41, was en route to visit a friend in the Wheatfield and Demotte area in Northwest Indiana last Wednesday when she disappeared, according to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office.
The woman is believed to have fallen asleep behind the wheel of her black 2008 Ford Taurus and veered off the road while driving near the small town of Brook, around 80 miles south of Chicago.
Cassell crashed into a “very big, deep ditch” that couldn’t be seen from the road, her father Delmar Caldwell told ABC7 Chicago. He added that passersby couldn’t hear her cries for help.
She became trapped and was largely unable to move inside the vehicle, while her cell phone had run out of battery.
“She was in excruciating pain. She was screaming out for help. She could hear cars going by, but they couldn’t see her from the road,” her father added.
Cassell’s family joined rescue teams – comprised of local EMS, fire and air services – and had been searching for the mom for six days when Johnny Martinez, who was operating drainage equipment nearby, spotted a vehicle on Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday.
Martinez contacted his supervisor Jeremy Vanderwell, who also happens to be a local volunteer fire chief in the nearby town of Morocco.
Authorities said Martinez and Vanderwall checked the Ford and found Cassell, the sole occupant of the vehicle, conscious and speaking.
“‘That’s you?’ I said, ‘Your family’s been looking for you.’ I said, ‘There are posts everywhere on social media.’ I said, ‘I can’t believe you’ve been in this long,’” Vanderwall told the local news station.
Cassell allegedly told Vanderwell that she had been dipping a green sweater into a ditch to get water in an attempt to stave off dehydration.
“You know, it picked up the water into the shirt, and she would suck the water out of her shirt,” Vanderwall told CBS News. “Her survival mode just was uncanny, you know, her will to live.”
Cassell was rescued and air-lifted to Chicago hospital, the sheriff’s office said. Her family said she had suffered severe injuries to her legs – which they claim she may lose – along with her ribs and wrist.
A fundraiser was set up by Cassell’s daughter, Lexi, to pay for her medical bills. The GoFundMe, which had raised about $2,000 of its $15,000 target by Wednesday morning, also claimed that Cassell’s legs and wrist are “badly broken.”
The woman was placed in the ICU and is expected to undergo surgery on Wednesday, the family said.
“It’s going to be a long road to recovery,” Caldwell told reporters Tuesday. Cassell’s mother, Kim Brown, added: “I just can’t wait to hug her and kiss her, which I probably can’t do.”
Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran praised Cassell’s rescuers as “heroes” and commended the victim’s resilience.
“You may have seen the story about a crash victim who survived for nearly six days before being discovered,” Cothran said in a statement Tuesday. “That alone is an incredible testament to her will to live. We are grateful for all the well wishes sent her way.”
He continued: “Today, I watched three different volunteer fire departments come together as one, working seamlessly toward the common goal of helping a crash victim. Their teamwork, skill, and dedication are truly inspiring.”
