A driver trapped in his cab under a bridge for six days after a crash in Indiana was found by two fishermen scouting for fishing holes.
Mario Garcia and son-in-law Nivardo De La Torre had been killing time while waiting for their wives, police say. They ended up finding Matthew Reum, 27, of Mishawaka, whose truck had crashed off Interstate 94 on 20 December.
In hospital, Mr Reum had one of his legs amputated and is now in intensive care, his union says. Mr Garcia said he had seen the wrecked truck and was moving an airbag out of the way when Mr Reum “woke up”.
The driver told the men he had been trapped and pinned in his seat under the bridge near Portage, he recalled at a news conference held by the state police.
“He tried yelling and screaming, but nobody would hear him,” Mr Garcia recalled the man telling him.
“It was just quiet – just the sound of the water.” Mr Reum, a union welder, had had no food but survived by drinking rain water. The rescued driver was taken to Memorial Hospital in South Bend, CBS reports, quoting Indiana State Police Sgt Glen Fifield.
Police added: “Had it not been for the two individuals that were walking the creek this afternoon, this incident more than likely would have had a different outcome.
“There had not been any prior reports of a crash in this area prior to the fishermen finding the vehicle.” The fishermen said they were very glad to come across the man when they did.
“It's cold tonight and I don't believe he would've made it through the night tonight,” said Sgt Fifield. “That's my personal opinion.” Mr Garcia added: “He said to me that he's been there for a long time; that he had almost lost all hope – because nobody was there.”
Mr Reum's union, Boilermakers Local 374, said his left leg had been amputated on Wednesday morning from around his mid-shin down, NBC reports.
— CutC by bbc.com
