A 41-year-old Indiana mother has been reunited with her family nearly a week after a car crash left her trapped in her vehicle and stuck on an embankment.
According to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, Brieonna Cassell was driving approximately one mile from the Newton County Landfill on Thursday when it’s believed she fell asleep behind the wheel.
Her car then veered off the roadway and ended up trapped on an embankment, where she remained trapped for six days, with her vehicle not visible from the roadway.
“She was hearing the cars go by and hollering, you know, screaming,” her father Delmar Caldwell said.
During that time, family reported Cassell missing, and prayed for answers.
Her father says that his daughter’s survival instincts kicked in, using her hooded sweatshirt to get water from the creek she was trapped near.
“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.”
Finally on Tuesday, a seeming miracle occurred. A Good Samaritan named Johnny Martinez, operating equipment for a drainage company, spotted the vehicle on the embankment, and immediately summoned his supervisor Jeremy Vanderwall, who also serves as the fire chief of nearby Morocco.
The duo discovered Cassell in the vehicle, and immediately contacted authorities. She was then airlifted to a Chicago hospital, where her family has now been reunited with her.
“I am so happy. Today is the happiest day of my life,” her mother Kim Brown said. “I have not been able to do anything but cry and pray and thank the Lord today for letting my baby come home.”
Cassell’s family says they are thankful for every volunteer that helped to find their daughter.
“This is a huge win. It brings hope, that there’s still a chance for the other people that are missing out there, that this could be a happy ending for them as well,” volunteer Lorenzo Longoria said.
Her family is optimistic that she will make a full recovery from her injuries, and they credited her strong spirit for helping her to stay alive.
“I knew she had it in her. She persevered. She wanted to stay alive,” Caldwell said.