Indiana woman trapped in car for six days after crash survived drinking ditch water
Brieonna Cassell was reported missing by her family on 5 March. Her father said she used a hoody to drink water from a ditch while trapped in her car for almost a week.
Wednesday 12 March 2025 23:40, UK
A woman trapped in her car for almost a week after a crash survived by dipping her hoodie in water from a ditch so she could drink.
Brieonna Cassell, 41, from Wheatfield, Indiana, was reported missing by her family on 5 March.
On Tuesday, after six days trapped, she was rescued when a man operating drainage equipment saw her car stranded off the road near the town of Brook.
Johnny Martinez called his supervisor, Morocco fire chief Jeremy Vanderwall, and the pair checked the vehicle.
After the two men found Ms Cassell conscious in the car, emergency services responded to the scene and took her to a Chicago hospital via helicopter.
Sheriff Shannon Cothran, from Newton County Sheriff's Office, said on social media: "In my book, Mr Martinez is a hero, and we can never thank him enough for his keen eye and quick action."
Her father, Delmar Caldwell, that Ms Cassell had fallen asleep at the wheel while driving and veered into a ditch.
She was stuck in the car with serious injuries to her legs and wrist, he said, and her phone was dead under the passenger seat.
"The only way she was able to survive was using her hoodie and dipping it into the water in a ditch and sucking the water."
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In an update from Ms Cassell's mother, shared by the sheriff's office on Wednesday, the 41-year-old is in stable condition but doctors are concerned with how her legs are healing.
The force added: "Her outlook for recovery is good but it will be a long road to recovery."