Richmond woman survives 6 days trapped in her car after Wayne county County crash
Brieonna Cassell, 41, survived for six days after her car veered off the road and into a ditch in Kentland, Ind.
The woman was discovered by a construction worker who noticed her wrecked car from his elevated vantage point.
She suffered two compound fractures in both legs and was airlifted to a Chicago-area hospital.
Cassell is expected to make a full recovery, but it will be a long process.
Brieonna Cassell survived broken bones and being pinned in her wrecked car for six days and seven nights before anyone noticed her, the Newton County sheriff said.
She fell asleep March 5 as she drove westbound on Newton County Road 600 South, Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran said about what officers learned in their investigation. Her car veered off the south side of the road and into the Battleday Ditch just east of Newton County Road 300 East.
The sun rose on March 6, and traffic over the bridge in rural Newton County passed above Cassell’s car unaware of her plight.
Cassell, 41, of Wheatfield, Ind., was unable to reach her cellphone, which fell under the passenger seat, Cassell’s mother, Kim Brown, told WGN-TV on Tuesday.
Brieonna Cassell is airlifted Tuesday, March 11, 2025, from near the site where she spent six days trapped inside her car after she ran off the road into a ditch in rural Newton County. She was listed as stable Wednesday and expected to have surgery on her broken legs.
Cassell could do little else than wait and hope someone might see her. For six days she waited as her screams for help with unnoticed by motorists driving over the ditch’s culvert. Meanwhile, her family filed a missing person’s report with the neighboring Jasper County Sheriff’s Department.
“She was using a sweatshirt to dip into the creek and suck the water out of the sweatshirt,” Cothran said.
Luck changed for Cassell about 10:10 a.m. Tuesday when Johnny Martinez drove past in a piece of construction equipment where the driver’s seat is higher than normal traffic, Cothran said.
Martinez saw Cassell’s wrecked car, setting in motion her rescue by calling his supervisor who happened to be the Morocco fire chief. She was airlifted from the scene to a Chicago-area hospital, Cothran said. She was conscious and speaking when rescuers reached her.
She reportedly has two compound fractures on both legs, and a GoFundMe page says she also broke her wrist. She is in stable condition, Cothran said Wednesday, relaying the information from Brown.
Her daughter started a gofundme page to offset her medical expenses.
Cassell was scheduled for surgery Wednesday, and the doctors have concerns about how her legs will heal, but they will heal, the sheriff said of Brown’s messages.
Her outlook for recovery is good, but it will be a long road.
“Kim also wished to express her thanks and appreciation to all responders and all the people that have expressed their thoughts and concerns,” Cothran said.
