Indiana man rescued six days after crashing truck thanks well-wishers for “revitalizing my hope in humanity.”
Matt Reum
Memorial Hospital in South Bend
The Indiana man rescued six days after crashing his pickup truck has released a video thanking well-wishers for “revitalizing my hope in humanity.”
“I have seen more love and just random acts of kindness,” Matt Reum said from Memorial Hospital in South Bend, where he was listed in fair condition in the rehabilitation unit.
Reum has told police his truck went off Interstate 94 ahead of a bridge over Salt Creek, missing the guardrail and rolling several times before landing on the other side of the creek, hidden out of sight from the road above.
Reum was trapped inside the truck and couldn’t reach his cellphone, according to the Indiana State Police, who said Reum survived on rainwater.
He was spotted six days later by a father and son scouting spots to fish. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
“I lost my leg. I have an above-the-knee amputation now,” Reum said in the video. “I’ve got an ankle that’s broken. I’ve got a hand that’s broken.
“You guys have made something that would be so hard for a normal person to go through, and you have showered me with love,” Reum said “And you have showed me so much kindness. There is no way I can ever start to repay you guys or say thank you enough. But I’m going to try. Thank you for all of these blessings. Thank you for revitalizing my hope in humanity. Because you guys have been amazing.
“I never thought at 27 I’d have to worry about how I’d get around,” he said. ”There are so many things we take for granted in life. And now I can’t take it for granted. There are so many things you have taken the burden off of. I cannot tell you how thankful I am for that.”
A GoFundMe to help with medical expenses has raised more than $93,000 of its $100,000 goal.