Man survives six days trapped in pickup truck wreck

Two men near Portage, Indiana, were exploring a creek Tuesday for possible fishing spots when they spotted a shiny object through the trees. They got closer and saw that it was a mangled vehicle.

One of the men, Mario Garcia, said he looked inside, pushed the airbag aside and found what he thought was a lifeless body.

But when touched, a young man, who was still alive, woke up.

“He was very happy to see us,” Mr. Garcia said at a press conference. “I’ve never seen such relief.”

The driver, Matthew R. Reum, 27, of Mishawaka, Indiana, was trapped in the crumpled 2016 Ram truck for six days, according to authorities.

Mr. Garcia said the man he was with, Nivardo Delatorre, immediately went to the highway to call for help.

According to Sgt. It took rescuers “quite some time” to free Mr Reum from the wreckage. Glen Fifield, a spokesman for the Indiana State Police.

Mr. Reum was airlifted with “serious, life-threatening injuries” to Memorial Hospital in South Bend, about 50 miles away, police said. a press release on Wednesday.

His condition improved from “critical” to “severe” the next day, hospital spokeswoman Heidi Prescott said.

Police determined that Mr. Reum crashed around 11 p.m. on Dec. 20 in Portage, about 120 miles west of Fort Wayne.

A preliminary investigation revealed the pickup was traveling westbound on I-94 when it veered off the road and headed toward Salt Creek below, missing a protective guardrail on the highway bridge along the way.

“So it rides on the grass verge for a long time before it goes airborne into the creek, where it probably rolls several times,” Sergeant Fifield said.

The pickup ended up under the bridge, hiding it from drivers above, he said.

“Honestly, it’s a miracle he’s still alive,” the sergeant said.

It was not immediately clear how Mr. Reum had survived for so long, but Sergeant Fifield noted that the unusually warmer temperatures had worked to his advantage.

Police said they had received no reports of a crash on that stretch of highway, but that even if they had, it would have been difficult for officials to see the wreck from the road.

“I don’t see how anyone could have seen him,” Mr. Garcia said. “It was just really fortunate that we had seen the shine of the wreck through the cracks of the forest.”

Mr Reum told the fishermen that he had tried to shout for help to no avail.

“It was just quiet,” Mr. Garcia told Mr. Reum. “Just the sound of the water.”

Mr. Reum asked for privacy while he recovered, the hospital spokeswoman said said Wednesdaybut Mr. Reum asked for a message to be shared on his behalf.

“No matter how difficult things get, there is light at the end of the tunnel,” the message said. “Sometimes in the least expected way.”