PORTAGE, Ind. (WGN) — A man is recovering after spending days trapped under a bridge along Interstate 94 in Northwest Indiana following a crash.
Emergency crews were called to the scene at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday after two men found the vehicle while scouting for fishing locations near Salt Creek beneath the bridge.
According to Indiana State Police, Nivardo Delatorre and his father-in-law Mario Garcia were walking near the creek when they spotted the crashed vehicle partially in the creek.
The men said the crashed vehicle sparked their curiosity, so one of them went to look inside and found a man inside.
The man has been identified as 27-year-old Matthew Reum of Indiana.
One of the men said they reached out to touch Reum, who then turned around and told them he had crashed last Wednesday, Dec. 20, and was trapped inside the vehicle, unable to reach his cell phone to call for help.
Emergency crews were able to extricate Reum from the vehicle, but police say he suffered potentially life-threatening injuries in the crash and was transported to the hospital via medical helicopter. His current condition is unknown.
Authorities held a press conference on Tuesday evening to provide an update on the rescue. The full press conference can be viewed in the video player above.
“Quite frankly, it’s a miracle that he’s alive. In this weather, we’ve been lucky enough here this Christmas season that our temperatures have been, as you all know, above normal.” Sgt. Glen Fifield said during a press conference on Tuesday evening. “So that was working in this individual’s favor.”
Officers say the crash unfolded in a way that left the vehicle out of sight for drivers who would have been passing by.
Police say it is currently unclear what led to the crash and added that there had not been any reports of crashes in the area over the past week.
