VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A Canadian teen-ager who survived eight days trapped in his crashed car with only a bottle of water underwent surgery Wednesday after being freed.
Joe Spring, 19, of Vancouver suffered head injuries, a broken ankle and fractured ribs after his car plunged off a road and down an embankment in British Columbia on May 21.
Rescuers couldn’t find his car because of thick brush, but a helicopter finally spotted it Tuesday. Workers used machinery to pry the car apart and free Spring, who police said was semiconscious and badly dehydrated after surviving near-freezing temperatures.
“We’re very, very, very happy that they’ve found him, but he’s not out of the woods yet,” said his mother, Teresa Spring. “They can’t predict anything.”
Spring was on his way to attend a graduation in Prince Rupert in northern British Columbia, with a plan to spend the night at a friend’s house along the way, his family said.
When Spring failed to arrive at the friend’s house, police, helicopters and family members began searching possible highway routes.
“We didn’t give up hope, and we always thought that he was there, but it’s very easy for negatives to seep in,” Tim Spring, Joe’s father, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Temperatures in the area where Joe was found fell as low as 36 degrees overnight.
Corp. Garry Begg of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Spring was incoherent when found. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
