Brieonna Cassell | Source: YouTube/WGN News

Indiana Woman Speaks Out After Surviving 6 Days Trapped in Her Car

Jun 13, 2025 - 10:55 A.M.

The 41-year-old survivor was the subject of a missing person's report three months ago—until she was found by a passerby. The woman had crashed her car and was unable to get out or call for help for nearly a week.

Back in March of this year, Brieonna Cassell was reported missing by her mother, Kim Brown, after she hadn't heard from her in days.

Kim Brown, Brieonna Cassell's mother, speaks to reporters on March 12, 2025. | Source: YouTube/CBS Chicago

Six days after the report, a passerby named Johnny Martinez discovered a vehicle off the roadway approximately one mile southeast of the Newton County Landfill, according to a police report.

Martinez had been operating equipment for Deyoung Drainage and, upon spotting the vehicle, contacted his supervisor, Jeremy Vanderwall—who also happened to be the Morocco Fire Chief.

Vanderwall and Martinez inspected the car and found a woman—the only occupant inside—conscious and able to speak but severely injured. She was subsequently airlifted to a Chicago hospital. That woman would turn out to be Cassell.

Three months after the ordeal and well into recovery, Cassell is now telling her story. She revealed that she had fallen asleep behind the wheel when she veered off the road and crashed into a ditch. "And then my car crunched like an accordion," she told CBS News.

A photo of Brieonna Cassell's crush car in news report dated March 12, 2025. | Source: YouTube/CBS Chicago

Her legs were resultingly trapped. "I was like, 'Well, go to sleep — hopefully, somebody finds you.' Woke up in the morning, and I was still there, and I was all like, 'Now I've got to figure out how to get out of here,'" she continued.

Cassell stayed alive by drinking water from her cardigan, staying warm with a mattress topper, and using a flashlight to try to signal passing drivers. After she was found, she received months-long treatment at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois.

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"When they pulled me out of that car, my flesh had been rotting for two days. I had been smelling it," Cassell said. "I didn't think my legs were coming out of the car with me."

She underwent a total of 13 surgeries on her legs. She's currently unable to walk but believes she will regain the ability. For now, she's focusing on physical therapy and plans to write a book about her experience.

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