Woman Survives Being Trapped for Five Days After Car Crash

A Colorado woman managed to survive for five days after a car crash left her trapped in an isolated part of the region.

Kristin Hopkins, a single mom to four children, flipped her car on April 27 near the town of Fairplay. She survived the crash, but was trapped inside her car, a 2009 Chevy Malibu. She wrote messages begging for help on an umbrella she opened out of one of her car’s windows, hoping someone would see it. The messages read “no food, no water; please help me; need a doctor.”

It took five days before someone spotted her car. Via ABC News:

Authorities say at least one motorist hiked down from Red Hill Pass on U.S. Highway 285 and alerted authorities on Sunday that there was a body inside the car. Rescuers found Hopkins alive, conscious and coherent — but critically injured and extremely dehydrated.

Hopkins was flown by helicopter to St. Anthony Hospital in suburban Denver, Park County undersheriff Monte Gore said. She was in critical condition Monday, said hospital spokeswoman Loralee Sturm. Hopkins’ family issued a statement saying she will lose both her feet because of injuries sustained in the crash and is expected to survive.

Hopkins had been reported missing since the day of the crash, but since authorities did not suspect foul play, there was no active search for her.

“It’s really something off that ‘Shouldn’t Be Alive’ show,” said firefighter Jim Cravener, one of the first responders who helped save her. “She really had a strong will to survive.”