Woman with 'serious injuries' miraculously survives for 6 days in the woods after car crash

Maggie Parker

A 53-year-old woman survived six days in the woods after her car crashed on Oct. 12, and she might not have been found if it weren’t for a cow.

She lost control of her vehicle while driving in Wickenburg, Ariz., on U.S. 60. Her car crashed through the fence on the side of the road, fell 50 feet, and landed in a tree, according to a press release posted by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The car remained hanging in the tree, and so did the woman.

No one noticed for six days until, on Oct. 18, an Arizona Department of Transportation maintenance crew and rancher were working to “corral a cow” along the highway, the release reports. That’s when they noticed the ruptured fence. Shortly after, they found the dangling car and notified the public safety department.

Trooper Caleb Hiegel, road maintenance crew members Zach Moralez and Josh Miller, and rancher Dave Moralez searched the car, but at that point, it was empty. They found human tracks leading to a nearby river, however, and the tracks led Hiegel and Moralez to a “woman with serious injuries,” the release reports.

“When found, she was weak and severely dehydrated,” Arizona Department of Public Safety public information officer Quentin Mehr tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

The survivor, who wishes not to be identified in the media, explained to Hiegel that after she lost control of the car, she remained inside it for several days before climbing out. “Once she climbed out, she walked towards the railroad tracks in the area with the hope of being discovered. She never made it because of her weakened physical state,” the press release states. Somehow, she miraculously survived for six days, waiting to be found.

“The diligence of the ADOT crew and teamwork of everyone involved is exemplary and to be commended. Due to their outstanding efforts, this woman’s life was saved,” Col. Frank Milstead, Arizona Department of Public Safety director, stated in the press release.

She was treated onsite while waiting to be airlifted to a hospital. Mehr tells Yahoo Lifestyle, “at this time she is recuperating.”

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