Girl in wreck survives 10 days on noodles, Gatorade next to dead mother.

by Elsewhere 8 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Elsewhere

  http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/04/14/girl.found/index.html

  Girl in wreck survives 10 days on noodles, Gatorade

  'It's amazing she was able to live that long'

  LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A 5-year-old girl is in stable condition Wednesday, a day after she was discovered by highway workers near the scene of a car crash that killed her mother about 10 days ago, according to police and hospital officials.

  Ruby Bustamante survived by drinking Gatorade and eating dried noodles found in the car, according to family members.

  Police believe Norma Bustamante, 26, drove off a highway near Banning, California, about 70 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, plunging 400 feet over the guardrail to her death, according to Capt. Bob Clark, commander of the California Highway Patrol's station in Banning.

  "It appears that the crash, the collision did occur 10 days ago," Clark said. "We're really not sure exactly how long, we're assuming it's been 10 days because of the amount of time that they've been missing."

  "I couldn't imagine having to survive like that for 10 days without any help," Clark said. "It's amazing she was able to live that long."

  Clark said police believe Ruby and her mother were reported missing from nearby Indio, California.

  California transportation workers, repairing the guardrail on Freeway 60, "noticed movement approximately 150 feet down a steep embankment," according to a CHP report.

  The workers found Ruby, who "appeared to be uninjured, but was hungry and thirsty" near the site of the crash, the report said.

  They also discovered the "very decomposed" body of the child's mother.

  The girl is in stable condition at Riverside County Regional Medical Center, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

  She was able to eat a hamburger and drink some apple juice, according to hospital sources.

  Her great-grandfather, Bill Cooney, criticized the CHP and other authorities for not searching for Ruby and Norma Bustamante when they were reported missing on April 4, according to The Associated Press.
• 

  simplesally

  That little girl must have been so sad seeing her mother lay dead every day for 10 days. I am sure there will be some trauma with this case. It's hard to believe that no one saw the accident or was tracing the route the car was to have taken.
• 

  Elsewhere

  I thought about the mother... you know that her last thought was the horrible thought of her daughter being killed next to her. What a terrible way to die.
• 

  Stefanie

  That is so sad. When I was little that was my worse nightmare, seeing my mom dead.
• 

  LyinEyes

  That is such a sad story. Seeing your mom dead is a terrible thing ,,,it is unreal , at least that is how I felt at 18. I can only imagine what this child must have went thru, and at the age of five , she is not likely to ever forget what happened, and will probably remember in detail all of it. I know the little girl will need therapy for sure. I wonder if he mother died instantly or was alive for awhile ?? I doubt the Mother was alive or coherant enough to leave instructions for her daughter, or even use a cell phone if she had one.

  That is the very reason we have cell phones, my oldest son doesnt leave home without his cell phone.

  Last fall two boys were lost in the deep woods and bayous around our hometown, and it was such a cold nite . They were 16 and 17 yrs old, raised in the woods hunting,,but it got dark and the roads all look the same around here, very easy to get lost. There was a good ending for the boys,, about 2 hours after sun up they came out of the woods on their own safe and sound. I didnt find out if they had a cell phone with them and it just didnt get a signal, which is not unheard of around these parts.

  Going back to the story of the little girl in the wreck,,,,if you were the mother and you knew you were going to die very soon,,,,but had enough life in you to instruct your five year old child, what would you have done?

  If there was no cell phone,,,,would you tell your child to stay in the car , hoping someone would find her? Or, would you instruct the child to crawl up the embankment, or somehow get back to the main road?? Either way ,,,,,it would be so hard to decide to tell the child to go to the road....what might happen if she did that? But this girl was lucky there was food and drink to sustain her....if these things were not in the car, she would have died . I don't know , this just makes me wonder what I would have done if I were the dying mother. I wonder what my children at that age would have done?
• 

  blondie

  I wondered how she survived that long. Pretty smart for 5!

  I wonder how I would have done at my age.

  Blondie
• 

  ApagaLaLuz

  Wow! What a story. Survival instincts kick in I suppose. Poor thing. One thing I hate most in the world is when things happen to children. Thank God she was found
• 

  Sentinel

  I'm certain this little one will need help to get through this trauma. She survived--not only her mother's horendous death, but also the slow decomposition of the body over ten days.

  I do wonder why they didn't find the accident any sooner, when they were reported missing on the 4th!! Someone will have to answer that question for sure.

  /<
• 

  Mary

  Unbelieveable!! If I had children, they'd be getting one of these: http://www.gpschildlocatorwatch.com/