An Indiana man was found after surviving six days in a Ram pickup that crushed under one of America’s busiest highways
4 hours ago
Two fishermen, Mario Garcia and his son-in-law Nivardo Delatorre, were just looking for a spot to cast their rods, when they stumbled upon an overturned Ram pickup truck. They stopped to take a look, and eventually saved the life of Matthew R. Reum.
Shockingly, Reum crashed on December 20, six days before being found by Garcia and Delatorre. While the moments leading up to the crash remain a mystery, what is clear is that the Ram was traveling westbound on I-94 near Portage, Indiana, when it left the road, jumping over the barrier, and down towards a small creek.
Although he crashed off one of the busiest stretches of interstate highway in America, his eventual stopping point was out of sight for most drivers. With the roar of the vehicles, and the otherwise remote nature of the location, Reum’s calls for help weren’t heard.
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Indiana State Police
Hauntingly, the accident tragically left him pinned in his seat, with his cell phone just out of reach, rendering him unable to exit the vehicle nor the means to call 911. Fortunately, he was able to cling to life by drinking rainwater that pooled near his head, showing his remarkable will to survive.
Potentially saved by the unseasonably mild weather, police say that a turn for the colder on the evening of December 26 meant that he likely wouldn’t have made it another night. Fortunately, Garcia and Delatorre happened upon the crash just in time.
They say that they noticed the overturned truck and decided to look in out of curiosity. Garcia moved the airbag aside, and assumed they had found a dead body. As he reached out to touch the shoulder, Reum woke up and asked for help — prompting them to call 911.
“He was alive and he was very happy to see us,” Garcia told CNN. “I’ve never seen relief like that.”
All was not yet well, though. Due to the location of the accident, it took emergency services several hours to rescue Reum. However, the Indiana State Police report that he was flown by Lutheran Air to Memorial Hospital in South Bend, for treatment of severe, life-threatening injuries.
Reum was still in critical condition on Wednesday, December 27, having suffered broken bones and injuries to his legs that could require surgery. However, in a GoFundMe page set up to help pay his medical costs, the 27-year-old welder can be seen smiling and giving the thumbs up in his hospital bed.