An Indiana woman who was missing for six days was found in her car Tuesday off the roadway and out of sight from traffic.
Brieonna Cassell, a 41-year-old woman and mom of three, was considered missing for six days before she was found Tuesday in her car in a ditch in Brook, Indiana, by a man working in the area. The man and his supervisor checked the car and found Cassell alone, conscious and speaking, according to Newton County Sheriff’s Office. She was injured and flown to a Chicago hospital.
Cassell’s family said she fell asleep behind the wheel and veered off the roadway and ended up trapped in her car in a ditch for six days.
“She was hearing the cars go by and hollering, you know, screaming,” her father, Delmar Caldwell, told NBC Chicago.
Cassell used her sweatshirt to soak up water from the creek behind the wrecked vehicle. She would suck the water out of the sweatshirt and drink it.
“She would take her hoodie and toss it, like she’s fishing,” he said. “And bring it back and suck on it to have water.”
Cassell had compound fractures in her legs, a broken arm and broken ribs, according to her family. They are hopeful she will make a full recovery.
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“I knew she had it in her. She persevered. She wanted to stay alive,” Caldwell told NBC Chicago.
Shannon Cothran, the Newton County sheriff, thanked Johnny Martinez, the man who first saw Cassell in the ditch.
“In my book, Mr. Martinez is a hero, and we can never thank him enough for his keen eye and quick action,” Cothran wrote on Facebook.