Crash Survivor Hopes To Help Woman Who Lived Through Similar Situation
DENVER (CBS4)- A woman who survived days after being trapped in the wreckage of her vehicle after a crash is hoping to help a survivor with a similar story.
Cynthia Blair-Hoover crashed her car after driving off the Central City Parkway when she swerved to avoid a deer. She was trapped in her car for five days before she escaped to safety.
When she heard of Kristin Hopkins story, where the Highlands Ranch woman was found alive after six days of being trapped in her car's wreckage, Blair-Hoover was stunned.
"I started crying because I knew what the family had been through and what they were about to go through and what she had been through," said Blair-Hoover.
Hopkins wrote pleas for help on a red-and-white umbrella that she managed to push through a broken window of her crashed car and open, hoping to attract the attention of drivers on a scenic highway above.
Still, it was five days before anyone spotted the flipped car 80 feet down an embankment on U.S. Highway 285 in a Colorado aspen grove.
Hopkins had to have both of her feet amputated as a result of her serious injuries.
Hearing about that crash brought back memories for Blair-Hoover, "It took five days before they found me and a lot of the survival was the fact that it rained a lot."
Water collected in her airbag which she then drank. She used a golf club to protect herself from animals at night.
"It was just going through my head, 'I have to fight. I am going to survive. I am going to live,'" said Blair-Hoover.
She finally slid down the mountain to an old gold mine where people came to her aid. She suffered a broken neck, broken back, broken ribs and damaged kidneys.
RELATED: Highlands Ranch Woman Found Alive In Crashed Car
If Hopkins is willing to talk to Blair-Hoover, she would be happy to share her story and offer her support.
"Not too many people live through that... She and I are the lucky ones," said Blair-Hoover. "I cherish every single day."
