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American Morning

Iowa Woman in Critical Condition After Five Day Ordeal in Car

Aired May 01, 2001 - 11:38   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: An Iowa woman who spent five days trapped in her car after an accident is in critical condition this morning. Lindsay Margaret Song Thomas was found late yesterday morning by Department of Transportation workers.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: She had been missing since her car ran off the road and into a ditch last week near Hampton, Ioaw. Details now from reporter Chris Nagus of CNN affiliate KCCI.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS NAGUS, KCCI REPORTER (voice-over): Just looking at Lindsay's car, you can tell it was a terrible accident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taken the jaws of life. Took the top open and had the doors pulled. One door completely off of the passenger's side. And they'd call for a chopper for medevac.

NAGUS (on camera): Lindsay Thomas' car went off at 5:35 here on Wednesday night. It jumped the culver, hit this concrete wall and came rest in more than two feet of water, making it her invisible to passing motorists from above.

STEVE SNOW, DOT: You can hear the traffic from the highway there, but driving down the highway, you can't see down in the bottom of the culvert, where she was.

NAGUS (voice-over): Steve Snow works for the Iowa DOT. He, along with three co-workers, were performing maintenance along 35 when they saw something unusual below.

SNOW: When we found her, she had somehow pulled a blanket up over top of her, and she said she was cold, and her feet were in the water and stuff. I can imagine how cold that was.

NAGUS: Snow was the first person to see or talk to Lindsay in five days.

SNOW: I was asking her what happened, and she said, she was fighting sleep pretty hard, and the next thing she knew, she woke up down the creek.

NAGUS: All Lindsay could do was sit and wait for help to arrive, not knowing when that would be. She had a cell phone but it was no use.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I asked her about cell phones. She advises us that she tried to use it and it didn't work for her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Wow, incredible story.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, lucky young woman.

HARRIS: Yes, thanks to Chris Nagus from our affiliate KCCI for that one.

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