--- title: "Missing Woman Survives Being Trapped in Her Car 6 Days After Crashing Into Ditch" date: "2025-03-13" modified: "2025-03-13" authors: - name: "Nico DeMattia" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/nico-demattia" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/missing-woman-survives-being-trapped-in-her-car-6-days-after-crashing-into-ditch" categories: - "News" --- # Missing Woman Survives Being Trapped in Her Car 6 Days After Crashing Into Ditch ![]() *\CBS Chicago\* Brieonna Cassell, 41 of Wheatfield, Indiana, veered off the road and crashed into a drainage ditch after reportedly falling asleep at the wheel last Wednesday. Since the car fell so far below the sightline from the road, no one spotted her vehicle. In the [crash](), Cassell cut her forehead, fractured one arm and both legs, and broke multiple ribs, so she couldn't escape. She was trapped for six days before a drainage worker found her. Cassell said she tried yelling for help, as she heard cars driving past, but no one could hear her. To make matters worse, her phone was dead, so she couldn't call for help. Despite all this, she endured and was clever enough to hydrate herself enough to survive by dipping her hoodie into the water beneath her car and wringing it out. "She persevered. She wanted to stay alive," said Cassell's father, Delmar Caldwell, according to [*CNN*](). “She was in excruciating pain. She was screaming out for help." ![]() **Newton County Sheriff's Office via Facebook** Cassell endured the pain of multiple broken bones for almost a week. All the while, police had been searching for her for six days, following a missing person report. When DeYoung Drainage employee Johnny Martinez spotted her, while operating heavy equipment, he called his supervisor Jeremy Vanderwell, who luckily also happened to be a local fire chief. Vanderwell asked Cassell how long she'd been there. "Since Wednesday," she told him. "I said, 'ma'am, it's Tuesday," according to Vanderwell. "Tomorrow's Wednesday." She then told him she'd been in the car since the previous Wednesday night. Once Cassell was found, she was airlifted to a Chicago hospital and was placed in the ICU. On Wednesday, she underwent surgery for injuries. Fortunately, she had the determination to survive for so long, on so little, while in immense pain, and someone was able to find her before it was too late. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F24swaAsT_0 *Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Nico is a writer and reviewer from New Jersey who probably thinks he’s a lot funnier than he actually is. His love of cars began when he was just a kid playing Gran Turismo 3, grinding out enough race wins with a Mazda Miata to save up for an in-game RUF 911. That passion for small, lightweight sports cars drove his desire to learn more about the industry, get his hands on as many cars as he could, and bring those experiences to life on the page. He cut his teeth writing about BMWs, Volkswagens, and Audis, mostly, and has owned far too many of each. He’s on his fourth 3 Series sedan, but all of his old, cheap German cars have forced him to learn more about car maintenance than his mechanical capability can handle. Too many late nights have been spent scrambling to get a car running by morning so he could get to work. For some reason, he never seems to learn that old Bimmers probably aren’t the best daily drivers. But he loves more than just old German cars. He’ll gladly drive and discuss anything with four (or even three) wheels. Cars aren’t his only passions, though. Nico is also a big nerd and loves movies, video games, comic books, and cares far too much about the New York Giants. So don’t be surprised if you see football references or dumb, obscure movie quotes in any of his car reviews. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()