Man who found woman stranded for 6 days after NW Indiana crash speaks out: 'Timing is perfect'

NEWTON COUNTY, Ind. (WLS) -- An Indiana mother found alive in a ditch after she was missing for nearly a week is still recovering in a hospital.

ABC7 spoke Wednesday with the good Samaritan who found her vehicle as he was driving his tractor.

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Brieonna Cassell had surgery Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn on Wednesday.

She was found on Tuesday inside her car after she crashed into a ditch in rural Newton County, Indiana.

Her family said the crash left her with significant compound fractures to both of her legs.

"I didn't know what happened to her. I didn't know where she was. It was scary," daughter Lexie Cassell said.

Cassell was alone for nearly six days, stuck in her vehicle after she had fallen asleep at the wheel and veered off the road into a ditch out of sight from passing cars.

A contractor, Johnny Martinez, was operating equipment when he spotted her car. After alerting his supervisor, they discovered Cassell alive, breathing and conscious.

"I can't see smoke... I can't see lights... nothing, so it's weird because I saw the car but I don't see anybody," Martinez said.

Martinez said he and his partner managed to get back there to help her. He said he couldn't believe Cassell was still alive after she told him she got into an accident the week before.

"The timing is perfect... the sheriff told me, 'You're a hero,' because the lady has been here six days and nobody seen it," Martinez said.

READ ALSO | Mom of 3 survives in car for nearly 1 week after crashing into creek in Northwest Indiana: sheriff

Friend of 30 years Jamie Tidwell said she knew in her gut what had happened.

"Her kids mean a lot to her, so I really think that she was really fighting to make sure she got back to her children," Tidwell said.

Cassell said her mom screamed for help, made signs to hold up to her window, and even put her car in neutral to slide into the creek closer to fresh water to drink.

But as the days and nights passed, she says her mom admitted her will to survive was dwindling.

"She said that she kept her hope, she fought and she kept trying, but on Tuesday morning, she said she woke up and she was ready to give up, and then they found her," her daughter said.

Lexie Cassell said at this point doctors don't know if they'll be able to save her mom's legs.

ABC7 was still waiting Wednesday evening to hear how that surgery went, but the family remains optimistic. They're just happy to have their mom home.

A GoFundMe was set up to help pay for Brieonna Cassell's medical bills.