Posted: 05/06/2014 12:01:00 AM MDT
Updated: 05/06/2014 02:44:07 AM MDT
A woman trapped inside a wrecked car in the Colorado mountains for days scribbled desperate messages on a red and white umbrella, saying the doors wouldn't open, she was bleeding and she needed help.
Kristin M. Hopkins, 43, of Highlands Ranch, was rescued Sunday after hikers spotted her flipped Chevrolet Malibu about 200 feet off of U.S. 285 at Red Hill Pass near Fairplay.
Hopkins, who had been missing since Tuesday, was flown by Flight for Life to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood in critical condition. A family spokesman said Hopkins, a single mother of four, was to have both feet amputated Monday afternoon.
Lt. Jim Cravener of the North-West Fire Protection District was one of the first two emergency responders to arrive Sunday.
He said that using a Sharpie, Hopkins wrote several notes on the white shaded sections of the umbrella and managed to get it out a broken rear window.
The pleas were hard to read but conveyed that she needed help, the doors wouldn't open, she was bleeding and she needed a doctor, and had been without food or water for six days, he said.
The car was traveling south on the highway, about 4 miles north of Fairplay, when it ran off the right side of the road at a left curve, according to the State Patrol.
The Chevy landed on its roof and was pinned against trees.
The State Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash.
'The page originally came out as a vehicle off-road, on its roof, off of Red Hill Pass, possibly with a body inside,' Cravener said.
His colleague James Estel was about to break out the front passenger window when Hopkins 'put her hand up' to signal the pair.
'She was mumbling, in and out of consciousness and was not making a whole lot of sense,' Cravener said.
Flight for Life was alerted and, with the help of other responders, rescuers were able to free Hopkins from the wreck.
She was placed on a backboard and carried to the helicopter.
The Chevy was hidden from view of the busy highway above but was close enough for sounds to carry down to it, Cravener said.
'Just imagine being trapped in the vehicle and listening to the highway nearby,' Cravener said. 'Torturous.'
On Monday, thoughts of Hopkins and the rescue kept replaying in Cravener's mind, he said.
'I'm still taking it in,' Cravener said. 'Hoping and praying she pulls through.'
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822, knicholson@denverpost.com or http://ift.tt/1lWMbx7
Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, May 6, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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