An Indiana woman is alive thanks to her quick thinking.
Nearly one week after Brieonna Cassell’s car crashed into a ditch in Newton County, Indiana, she stayed alive by dipping her sweatshirt in water for hydration while waiting to be rescued, her family shared.
“She would take her hoodie and toss it, like she’s fishing,” her dad Delmar Caldwell told NBC Chicago in an interview published March 11. “And bring it back and suck on it to have water.”
Brieonna, who was the sole occupant in the vehicle, was driving one mile from the Newton County landfill March 6 when officials believe she had fallen asleep, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office told the station. Her car veered off the road and landed in an embankment.
Despite the wreckage not being visible from the road, per authorities, a passerby eventually saw her car while operating a tractor for a drainage company, the sheriff’s office shared in a Facebook post. After Johnny Martinez summoned his supervisor Jeremy Vanderwall, they checked inside to see Brieonna conscious and speaking.
As for what she did following the accident? Her husband Aaron Cassell said that Brieonna—who had compound fractures in her arms, legs and wrist—realized the urgency of having a water source.
He told WGN News, “She put the car in reverse and let it roll back down the bank to the water so she could reach out” with her sweatshirt.
The sheriff’s office provided a final update on Brieonna, who was taken to a nearby hospital, with permission from her mom Kim Brown.
“Bri is listed in stable condition,” the March 12 Facebook post shared. “She is scheduled for surgery today as there is some concern with the healing of her legs. Her outlook for recovery is good but it will be a long road to recovery.”
The message also expressed Kim’s “thanks and appreciation to all responders and all the people that have expressed their thoughts and concerns.”
As Brieonna continues to heal from her injuries, which also included broken ribs and infections in her legs, her mom couldn’t help but praise her daughter’s resilience.
“She did what she could to survive,” she told ABC Chicago. “I am so glad she was found alive, and I just can’t wait to hug her and kiss her.”
(E! News and NBC Chicago are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
