An Indiana man who crashed his truck and had been trapped inside it for nearly a week when he was found by two good Samaritans, broke his silence on social media Sunday, with a message of gratitude.
The driver, identified as 27-year-old Matthew Reum, was heading westbound on Interstate 94 on Dec. 20 when his truck swerved off the road and into a ditch before going airborne, rolling several times and ending up in a creek underneath a bridge, according to preliminary investigations.
The crash caused Reum to become pinned inside the truck, unable to reach for his cellphone and call for help.
Six days later, two fishermen searching for fishing holes located a truck under the overpass with what appeared to be a dead body inside.
When one of the men touched the body, he was in for a shock when Reum turned his head and spoke.
On New Year’s Eve, Reum turned to Facebook to break his silence to the “hundreds and thousands of people” who have tried getting in contact or offering their donations.
“You guys turned an ordinary person who had a miracle happen and made him the most grateful person ever, and I cannot thank you enough,” Reum said. “While me living through this, in and of itself, is a Christmas miracle, the generosity I have been shown has grown my heart three sizes this year.”
He acknowledged the road ahead would be long with “dips and bends and curves,” but said he feels he can tackle anything with the support he has seen since being rescued.
“So, for now, thank you. And for the future, let’s get this, and Happy New Years,” Reum said.
When Reum was rescued, it took crews several hours because of the difficult terrain and the way he was trapped inside the truck.
Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield told reporters crews had a difficult time getting down to the creek with their equipment, so they could cut him out and remove him.
“Quite frankly, it’s a miracle that he’s alive,” Fifield said.