Matt Reum expresses gratitude for a 'miracle' after surviving six days in wrecked truck
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (CBS) -- A driver broke his silence Monday – six days after he was rescued from a wrecked pickup truck along a creek in Northwest Indiana where he had been trapped for as many days.
Matt Reum, 27, drove his pickup truck off I-94 near Portage on Wednesday, Dec. 20, and ended up down a ravine and under a bridge along the rushing Salt Creek. His Ram 1500 pickup truck was smashed and mangled, and he couldn't get out – nor reach his phone to call for help.
Reum drank rainwater to survive, and used his deployed airbag as a blanket when temperatures dropped. Finally, on the afternoon of Tuesday, Dec. 26, two fishermen who had come to scout out a spot along the creek just happened across Reum – and called 911 for first responders to come to his rescue.
Reum was airlifted to Memorial Hospital in South Bend – where he is still recovering from a leg amputation. On Monday, he posted a photo of himself from his hospital bed that was taken over the weekend.
He also issued a Facebook post:
"Let's break some silence, to everyone, and I mean the hundreds and thousands of people who have tried calling, texting, messaging, commenting, donating, and showing up to things like Corby's to support me, there will never be enough gratitude I can show.
"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. 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.
"This will be a long road to recovery, and there will be dips and bends and curves. But I feel like with all of you behind me I'll be able to tackle anything. So for now thank you. And for the future, let's get this, and Happy New Years."
The Corby's Reum mentioned is an Irish pub in South Bend.
A GoFundMe campaign to help with Reum's recovery has already raised more than $82,000.