In a stunning turn of events, two fishermen in Portage, Indiana, discovered the wreckage of 27-year-old Matthew Reum’s car under an Interstate 94 bridge.
This led to the beginning of Matthew Reum’s survival story. Mario Garcia and his son-in-law Nivardo De La Torre, while searching for fishing spots on December 20, made the astonishing discovery, revealing that Reum had been stuck inside his crashed vehicle for six days.
Miraculous Rescue
During a press conference on Tuesday evening, Garcia and De La Torre recounted finding the vehicle in a shallow creek.
Upon closer inspection, they initially believed they had discovered a lifeless body in the mangled truck. However, to their surprise, the person inside, Matthew Reum, turned his head and began talking to them when they touched him.
According to reports from CBS News, Reum informed the fishers that he had crashed his car several days earlier but was unable to reach his cellphone for help.
The 27-year-old was suffering from “potentially life-threatening injuries” and was promptly taken to Memorial hospital in South Bend after the rescue.
Sgt Glen Fifield shared that medics from multiple fire departments collaborated to extract Reum from the wreckage. Police believe the accident occurred when Reum was traveling westbound on Interstate 94 near mile marker 19, veering off the road for reasons yet unknown.
The car went airborne after missing a guardrail, traveling on the grass shoulder, rolling multiple times, and finally landing in the creek beneath the bridge. It’s still unknown what caused the crash specifically.
Fifield noted the probable role of weather conditions in Reum’s survival, citing National Weather Service Data that recorded temperatures reaching 58°F in Porter County on Monday.
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Indiana Fishermen Discover Matthew Reum’s Wrecked Car
The unexpected discovery by Garcia and De La Torre proved to be a pivotal moment, as Sgt Glen Fifield acknowledged, stating, “Had it not been for the two individuals that were walking the creek this afternoon, this incident more than likely would have had a different outcome. There had not been any prior reports of a crash in this area prior to the fishermen finding the vehicle.”
Matthew Reum’s survival against the odds stands as a testament to the significance of chance and the compassion of those who happened to be at the right place at the right time.
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