CBS 2 Exclusive: Police body cam video shows rescue of Matt Reum from wrecked truck in Indiana
PORTAGE, Ind. (CBS) -- CBS 2 has obtained newly-released police body camera video from the rescue of a driver who spent six days in a wrecked pickup truck in Northwest Indiana.
CBS 2 has covered the story of Matt Reum and his ordeal and rescue from many angles. We were the first to bring you the 911 call, and we interviewed the dispatcher who handled that urgent plea for help.
Now, body cam video obtained exclusively by CBS 2 shows the remarkable rescue directly from the viewpoint of the people who made it happen. The Portage, Indiana Police Department released six body cam clips from five different officers during the response and the rescue under Interstate 94 on Tuesday, Dec. 26.
Two fishermen – Mario Garcia and Nivardo Delatorre – had come down to the rapids of Salt Creek to find a suitable place to go fishing that afternoon. They found Reum's smashed pickup truck, discovered he was still alive, and quickly called 911.
Reum. 27, told Garcia and Delatorre he had been stuck in the wrecked pickup truck for six days.
Body cam video shows officers interviewing Garcia and Delatorre.
"We came over there, and I told, 'Them there's a car over there!" and I says, 'Let me go check it out,'" said Garcia.
The officers are shocked to learn Reum has been trapped in the pickup truck under the I-94 bridge for as long as he has.
"This is the craziest s**t I've ever seen," an officer says in one of the videos. " I've never seen something like this before. He's been trapped down here for that f***ing long. It's insane!"
Body cam video also documents Reum's rescue from beginning to end. A Cpl. Tobey first cuts the truck's airbag away, as Reum tells Tobey how his legs are trapped under the dashboard.
"So, left leg's stuck under the A-pillar, and then right leg's stuck in between the steering rack," Reum says to Tobey, "and I can't go any further this way."
Reum is alert and calm as he talks to Tobey, who reports Reum has an elevated heart rate of 120 bpm.
In a body cam video from Cpl. Tobey that lasts an hour and 22 minutes, first responders are seen working to get Reum out using ropes and rescue equipment, while give him medical attention and IVs.
After more than an hour of maneuvering the wreck, first responders are seen completing the rescue as night falls. Reum is carried out of his crashed pickup onto a stretcher – visibly in pain – to safety.
Reum drank rainwater to survive during his six-day ordeal, and used his deployed airbag as a blanket when temperatures dropped.
After his rescue, Reum was airlifted to Memorial Hospital in South Bend. At the time, he was in critical condition – and officials said his injuries were "life-threatening."
Not seen on camera is Reum handing first responders a journal he kept about his days stuck inside. Portage police said Reum wanted to be remembered, because he thought he might die.
Also not seen on camera is Reum's repeated request for a Big Mac once he was rescued.
Days after he was rescued, Reum was showing signs of progress – but his injuries remain serious. He is still recovering from a leg amputation, a broken ankle, and a broken hand.
Reum posted a pair of videos on social media on Thursday, providing an update on his recovery, and thanking his supporters.
Reum said in the Thursday video that he was out of physical rehabilitation and his doctors are talking about discharging him soon. He said is now using a walker and a wheelchair to get around, and hopes to find a new apartment that is more wheelchair accessible.
It is still unclear what caused the initial crash.
