Matt Reum is a boilermaker (welder) from Mishawaka, Indiana. On December 20, Reum's truck ran off Interstate 94, just shy of a body of water called Salt Creek. Instead of landing in the creek, Reum's truck rolled several times and landed underneath an underpass. Reum was tightly wedged in the wreckage and unable to move ... for six days. Reum's survival can only be classified as a Christmas miracle.

A 27-year-old man survived for six days on only rainwater while pinned tightly inside his crashed pickup truck beneath a highway bridge in northwest Indiana, police said.

His ordeal ended when two men scouting for fishing spots Tuesday afternoon noticed the badly damaged vehicle, its white airbag deployed, and reached inside.

“They touched the body, and the person turned their head and started talking to them. So, that got a little rise out of them,” Sgt. Glen Fifield of the Indiana State Police told local news outlets.

The truck went off Interstate 94 ahead of a bridge over Salt Creek, missing the guardrail and likely rolling several times before landing on the other side of the creek, hidden out of sight from the road above, Fifield said at a news conference.

Emergency rescue crews worked to first remove Reum from the wreckage, which, because of the location, was no easy feat. Reum was delicately transferred into an ambulance and then airlifted by helicopter to Memorial Hospital in South Bend, IN. Sadly, Reum had part of his leg amputated and remains in critical condition. According to a statement by his Boilermaker Union spokesman, Reum is in good spirits.

We are so grateful our #Boilermaker brother Matt Reum survived this harrowing event. Please find a link in the story below to a Go Fund Me account set up to help Brother Reum as he recovers. Share with others, please! #unionstrong #brotherhood https://t.co/tcsVMruA9Q #miracle

— Boilermakers Union (@boilermakernews) December 27, 2023

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Reum's friend Hayley Traxler has set up a GoFundMe to cover Reum's recovery and additional medical expenses.

"He has several broken bones throughout his body. He is alive and that’s what we care about most through this hard time he needs all the love and support he can get. He is the most kind hearted human I’ve ever met would do anything for you even if he barely knew you or at all."

Sgt. Fifield said Reum's will to survive the crash was nothing short of extraordinary.

“Had it not been for the two individuals that were walking the creek this afternoon, this incident more than likely would have had a different outcome.” 

Fifield surmised that the warmer winter weather was critical to Reum's survival. The unseasonably mild Midwest weather took a turn to brutal cold on Tuesday, just when the rescue crews were unraveling Reum from the wreckage. It's a powerful testament to the fact that when it's not your time, you're invincible. These are the good tidings of comfort and joy which befit the season.