“Whoa!” he yelled to his co-worker. “There’s somebody in there!”
Mr. Vanderwall approached Ms. Cassell, who he said was coherent and able to explain her injuries. Then he noticed dried blood on her forehead.
“How long have you been here?” he asked.
“Wednesday,” she said.
“I said, ‘Nah, today is Tuesday, tomorrow is Wednesday,’” he said. “She looked me straight in the face, said her name and said, ‘I’ve been in this car since Wednesday.’”
She added: “I thought I was going to die here.”
Emergency medical workers arrived on the scene, cut Ms. Cassell out of the car and airlifted her to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ill. She underwent three hours of surgery on Wednesday, and is now in stable condition, according to her family. She had several broken ribs and compound fractures in her left arm and legs, and it’s still too early to know if she will lose her legs, the family said.
Family members and friends, many of whom described Ms. Cassell as “strong willed,” “hard headed” and a “fighter,” are hoping that some of the grit that kept her alive during her harrowing week will aid in what will undoubtedly be a long recovery. That determination has already left an impression on her rescuer.
“How do you sit there for six days, and you hear the ‘thump thump’ of every set of tires going across that bridge, and not give up?” Mr. Vanderwall said. “Her will to live, man, that’s the most impressive.”
Kitty Bennett contributed research.