(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Mario Garcia, of Hobart, Ind., was walking along Salt Creek at around 3:45 p.m. Tuesday with his son-in-law. They were looking for potential fishing holes. Instead, the men caught a glimpse of a truck crashed under an Interstate 94 overpass near the Portage exit.
“There was nobody around to help,” Garcia. “I don’t see any way somebody could’ve seen him. It was just very fortunate that we had seen, through the cracks of the woods, the shining of the wreck. And curiosity that took us over there. It could’ve been a different outcome if we either didn’t go out or didn’t see him, but I’m glad we did.”
Garcia said he moved the airbag out of the way and touched the man, who jerked awake and startled them.
“He said … that he has been there for a long time, that he had almost lost all hope because nobody was there,” he said. “One more day, and something would’ve been very different here.”
The driver was seriously injured and couldn’t reach his cell phone, officials said.
Indiana State Police said fire crews removed the man from the vehicle, who they believe has been trapped since last Wednesday.
The man has been identified as 27-year-old Matthew Reums, from Mishawaka, Ind., and he’s in the hospital fighting for his life.
A GoFundMe that was started to help Reums pay for his medical bills and expenses has raised over $11,000.
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