12-03-2025
'Hero' finds woman trapped in crashed car 6 days after she was reported missing, officials say
'Hero' finds woman trapped in crashed car 6 days after she was reported missing, officials say
Six days.
That's how long 41-year old Brieonna Cassell was missing before she was found, trapped inside her wrecked vehicle on the side of a northwest Indiana roadway on Tuesday, the Newton County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook statement.
The only occupant in the vehicle, Cassell was conscious and able to speak when she was found by a man who noticed her vehicle off the roadway while operating equipment nearby.
"First and foremost, we owe immense gratitude to Johnny Martinez, who spotted the car in the ditch," Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran in a Facebook post. "In my book, Mr. Martinez is a hero, and we can never thank him enough for his keen eye and quick action." Upon discovering Cassell, Martinez called his supervisor, who happens to be the chief of the nearby Morocco Fire Department.
Cassell had fallen asleep behind the wheel on March 5, when her car veered off the road and landed in a ditch, Cothran told the Lafayette Journal & Courier, a part of the USA TODAY Network.
Sustaining two compound fractures in both of her legs and pinned inside the vehicle, Cassell could do little more than yell for help, which couldn't be heard by motorists, as Cassell and her vehicle were too far down from the road.
"She was using a sweatshirt to dip into the creek and suck the water out of the sweatshirt," Cothran told the Lafayette Journal & Courier.
Cassell, who is from Wheatfield, Indiana, was transported to a Chicago hospital and, as of Wednesday, was in stable condition, the Newton County Sheriff's Office shared to Facebook, on behalf of Cassell's mother, Kim Brown.
Cassell is scheduled for a Wednesday surgery, but there are concerns about the conditions of her legs, which were badly injured in the car wreck. Her outlook, the sheriff's office reported, is good but, "it will be a long road to recovery."
Cassell was found near the Newton County Landfill, authorities said, which is roughly 90 miles southeast of Chicago.
On Tuesday, a GoFundMe was created to raise money for Cassell's medical recovery. As of Wednesday afternoon, the GoFundMe, with a goal of $15,000, had raised $3,460.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@
