Woman survives in a mangled car for 5 days without food or water

A Colorado woman who went missing five days ago has been found alive in the crunched remains of her car after it plunged over 100 feet down an embankment. A passerby spotted the vehicle Sunday and alerted authorities that Kristin Hopkins, a mother of four, somehow survived the crash without food or water for nearly a week.
Investigators are trying to figure out how her Chevrolet Malibu fell off the cliff, dropped 120 feet down, rolled another 200 feet, and eventually settled on its roof while being pinned against large trees. The 43-year-old left several notes on an umbrella she pushed out the broken rear view window, with one saying: "Six days, no food, no water; please help me; need a doctor." Rescuers found her coherent and conscious, but bleeding badly.
Hopkins was transported to a local hospital where both of her feet were amputated Monday. She is expected to survive. -- Jordan Valinsky
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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.
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