A woman from Indiana has spoken out for the first time since she was trapped in her car for six days due to a car crash, CBS News reported. On Tuesday, March 11, Brieonna Cassell was found in a ditch inside her car in Newton County.
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Woman Recalls Harrowing Survival Journey Trapped In Car For Six Days
Since the horrifying incident, Cassell has undergone 13 surgeries after two men found her vehicle off the road. This was six days after her family reported her missing. Cassell was recovering for the past three months at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois.
Now, the 41-year-old woman is ready to talk about the gruelling six days she spent trapped in her car. Cassell recalled falling asleep behind the wheel that day, causing her car to veer into a ditch.
“My whole body was thrown into the floorboard and my legs buckled underneath me,” she said to WGN. ” My wrist hit the steering wheel and I hit my head on the windshield.”
The crash had pinned Cassell in her Ford Taurus, leaving her legs, ribs, and an ankle and wrist broken. She was unable to open her door due to a heavy rock, leaving her stuck.
Despite how terrifying this situation sounds, Cassell remembered not feeling panicked or in pain. “I knew the first thing when I wrecked was just that I have to stay calm,” said Cassell.
Cassell’s Incredible Quick Thinking Led To Her Survival
She attempted to grab her phone to call for help, but the crash sent her phone flying under her passenger seat. “I was trying to get Google to call and Google would not listen,” recalled Cassell. “It was saying, ‘I would love to do that for you but first you must unlock your screen.'”
All Cassell could do was scream for help. Thinking on her feet, Cassell painted 911 on a piece of debris using nail polish and tried holding it up. Still, no one seemed to hear her cries for help.
Then it came to her survival. Cassell described using a broken piece of the center console to reach a mattress cover behind her. This allowed her to stay warm during the cold nights.
She intelligently figured out a way to keep herself from being too dehydrated. Cassell would dip a pair of jeans into the ditch below her, which would soak up water for her to drink.
“I would hold onto the end of the leg and then I would fish over my shoulder while I held my door open with my head and my broken arm,” Cassell explained. “I’d pull it up and I would suck the water right out of the end of the jeans.”
How Cassell Was Saved Six Days After Her Car Crash
A miracle finally happened, and six days after the accident, she was rescued. The employee of a local fire chief spotted Cassell from high up on a tractor. He alerted his boss, allowing the fire chief to find her.
Despite how much she fought for those days, Cassell felt herself giving up on the sixth day. “I didn’t start to give up until the day I was actually found,” she said. “My bones had turned black, I could see them. I’d smelled rotting flesh for two days at that point. I’m like, if you don’t let somebody see me, then I’m not going to make it. And an hour later a truck pulled up.”
Cassell has spent the last three months mostly in the ICU undergoing surgeries. She has now returned home Saturday morning, but is still wheelchair bound.
Kim Brown, Cassell’s mom, recalled hearing her daughter’s tragic story for the first time once she returned home. “That’s the first time I’ve heard her tell the whole story and it got me,” said Brown. “I tell her all the time, I just love you. I’m so glad you’re here.”
Cassell is now writing a book about her harrowing survival journey. She plans to write 13 chapters, one for each surgery she endured.