Indiana woman is rescued after passerby directs police to car crash site along little-used road

GARY, Ind. (AP) — A woman who was trapped in a car that crashed early on New Years Day was rescued after a passerby directed officers to the crash scene along a little-used northwest Indiana road, police said.

Police and emergency responders spent two hours searching unsuccessfully for the car after a woman called 911 about 3:40 a.m. Monday and said she and another woman were trapped in a car that had flipped over in Gary, police said.

One of the women eventually got out of the wrecked car, which was upside down, and flagged down a passerby who directed officers to the crash, the Lake County Sheriff's Department said.

Greg Zellers, who's a mechanic, said he was on his way to work about 6:30 a.m. when the woman flagged him down and walked him to where the car had crashed about 50 yards (46 meters) from the roadway.

He told WLS-TV the car's headlights and tail lights weren't visible and there is little traffic on the road in Gary's Buffington Harbor area.

“It’s very difficult to see from the road,” said Zellers, who directed first responders and two officers to the crashed car.

“They asked me to stay until they got here. So I did, but then I needed to get to work," he said.

The woman trapped in the car told police she could not feel her legs. She was airlifted to a hospital and a message seeking information on her condition was left Tuesday morning for a Gary police spokesperson.

Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez said he appreciated the efforts of the passerby, the two officers and first responders who rescued the woman.

“Their diligence helped to prevent what could have been a tragedy,” he said in a statement.