In Their Own Words: Trapped After a Car Crash | 1

Summary

Podcast Summary

Against The Odds

Episode: In Their Own Words: Trapped After a Car Crash | Part 1

Original Air Date: December 2, 2025
Host: Mike Corey
Guest: Matt Rehm

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Overview

This episode of Against The Odds presents the harrowing survival story of Matt Rehm, a 27-year-old boilermaker, who was trapped in his truck for six days following a car crash in December 2023. Told in Matt’s own words, the episode follows his journey from the accident on a foggy Indiana highway to his eventual rescue, highlighting not just his physical ordeal but his mental battle with depression, despair, and the will to live.

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Key Discussion Points & Timeline

1. Setting the Stage: Matt's Life Before the Crash (00:27–05:03)

• Background: Matt, a union boilermaker, was enjoying a stable career, studying construction technology, and was preparing for a friend's funeral trip to Missouri.
  • “At 27 years old, I was in a fairly comfortable spot. I’d finally got myself in a position that I was happy with.” — Matt Rehm (03:13)
• Accident Premonition: Matt missed his usual exit, found himself on I-8094 amid thick fog, and, to avoid hitting an animal, swerved—leading to the devastating crash.

2. The Crash and Immediate Aftermath (05:03–10:56)

• Crash Details: Swerving to avoid deer, Matt’s truck hit the guardrail, spun down a hill, and came to rest beneath a bridge in a creek bed.
  • “The impact itself shattered everything almost instantly. So now it’s just raining glass.” — Matt Rehm (05:15)
• Injury Assessment: He regains consciousness in pain, unable to move or locate his phone; his leg and hand are broken and trapped by the dashboard.
• First Night: Matt attempts to call for help, but no cars stop. He uses up his energy yelling and honking—eventually falling asleep, hoping it was all a nightmare.

3. Assessing Survival and Inventory (10:56–13:15)

• Day Two: Realizes the extent of his predicament—trapped, no water, minimal food (old chicken wings), and surrounded by broken glass.
  • “The one thing that I didn’t have that I knew I was going to need very shortly was I did not have water.” — Matt Rehm (13:15)
• Mindset: Despite pain and fear, resolves to stay calm and practical, journaling and taking stock of reachable items—critical for his construction worker mentality.

4. Battling Thirst, Weather, and Despair (15:11–19:40)

• Dehydration: By the second full day, dehydration becomes severe. Matt can hear water in the creek but can’t reach it.
• Mental Health: Matt, with a history of depression and anxiety, faces the ordeal without medication—relying on therapy techniques, like deep breathing, to cope.
  • “Now I’m having to face my depression and anxiety without the help of any kind of medication, and I’m having to use everything that therapy has taught me over the last few years.” — Matt Rehm (15:54)
• Ingenuity: Uses rainwater that pours through a highway drainage spout, his car’s visor, and an empty mouthwash bottle to collect and filter water through sweatpants. The water tastes terrible but proves lifesaving.
  • “It’s gritty from all the asphalt and everything from the roads, probably mixed with a little bit of glass.” — Matt Rehm (17:47)
• Physical Challenges: Cold, soaked, forced to sleep sitting up or on a duffel bag; worries about injuries getting infected due to lack of hygiene.

5. Mental Spiral and Suicidal Crisis (19:40–20:59)

• Darkest Moments: Emotional and physical decline lead Matt to a suicide attempt using charging cords, which thankfully break.
  • “I try essentially hanging myself or suffocating myself with those. And thankfully, those break.” — Matt Rehm (19:57)
• Renewed Will: The failure and thoughts of loved ones—especially his best friend Kristen—prompt Matt to refocus on survival.

6. Desperation and Hallucinations as Days Pass (21:06–25:55)

• Time Distortion: Fatigue and lack of sunlight make keeping track of days and time difficult.
• Journaling: Uses the time to write reflections, regrets, notes to family and friends, and ultimately, as he loses hope, prepares for the possibility of dying.
  • “It would be nice to wish for…to get out of there for a Christmas present. But my brain knows that, you know, I am stuck in here.” — Matt Rehm (22:26)
• Hallucinations: On the sixth day, dehydration and hunger lead to hallucinations and dreams urging self-amputation for escape, but he is too weak to act.

7. Rescue: The Miracle on the Day After Christmas (27:51–29:28)

• Discovery: Mario Garcia and his son-in-law stumble onto Matt’s truck while out for a walk. Matt, half-believing he’s hallucinating, grabs Mario’s hand seeking confirmation of reality.
  • “Are you real? Are you actually there?” — Matt Rehm (28:18)
• First Responders: Police, firefighters, and medics arrive; cut Matt out of the truck and airlift him to hospital.

8. Recovery: Pain, Loss, and Second Chances (29:45–35:46)

• Medical Reality: Matt suffers multiple broken bones, severe tissue damage, and requires an amputation above the knee.
  • “Over the six days I was in my truck, having contemplated needing to amputate my own legs, there was already a part of my brain that knew, like, if you make it out of here, you’re probably losing a leg.” — Matt Rehm (31:16)
• Support Network: Emotional reunions with his father (after four years) and best friend Kristen, who’d been desperately searching for him.
  • “One of the things that kept me going…was thinking about how much this would hurt her, knowing how devastating it would be to her to hear that I passed away.” — Matt Rehm (32:08)
• Rehabilitation: Long hospital stay, two amputation surgeries, delay in walking until April/May, eventual return to running 5Ks, aided by a GoFundMe campaign for a running prosthetic.
• Community & Coincidence: Considers the odds of being found "miraculous"—if Mario and his son-in-law had left 30 minutes later, it may have been too dark to spot the truck.
  • “So knowing how little the odds should actually be that they saw me, that everything worked out, is honestly kind of miraculous that I am alive today.” — Matt Rehm (34:44)
• Gratitude & Perspective: Every day is a gift; Matt expresses gratitude for comforts and possibility, hoping to inspire others facing hardship.
  • “Every day I wake up, I am still beyond happy to be able to wake up knowing that my bed is a lot more comfortable than my truck. I’m extremely grateful for that.” — Matt Rehm (35:46)

9. Moving Forward (36:40–37:13)

• Achievements: In May 2024, Matt graduates with top academic honors, co-authors a book, resumes work, and shares his story to help others see hope despite adversity.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Perspective:
  • “Every day I wake up, I am still beyond happy to be able to wake up knowing that my bed is a lot more comfortable than my truck.” — Matt Rehm (35:46)
• On Survival:
  • “What I went through, I shouldn’t have made it out alive. It is something that…I’m able to wake up every day and be thankful for in terms of a second chance.” — Matt Rehm (35:46)
• On Rescue:
  • “Are you real? Are you actually there?” — Matt Rehm to his rescuer, Mario Garcia (28:18)
• On Hope:
  • “A lot of it is giving appreciation where appreciation is due, but also trying to help motivate and show people through what I’ve been through that, you know, life can be hard, but you can still make it through.” — Matt Rehm (35:46)

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Memorable Timestamps

• The Crash: 05:15–07:32
• First Dehydration Attempts: 17:23–18:50
• Moment of Suicidal Crisis: 19:57–20:12
• Journaling Thoughts & Farewell: 22:26–24:49
• Rescue Scene: 27:51–29:28
• Reflection on Gratefulness: 35:46

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Tone & Language

The episode is raw, vulnerable, and matter-of-fact, combining Matt’s plainspoken Midwestern pragmatism with emotional depth and moments of dark humor. The hosts maintain a respectful, immersive tone, letting Matt’s voice and perspective narrate the bulk of the story.

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Conclusion

This episode of Against The Odds offers a riveting, deeply human tale of endurance, resilience, and fortuitous rescue. Matt Rehm’s story is interwoven with moments of despair and triumph, serving as a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the unpredictable kindness of strangers.

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If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached at 988.

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For more survivor stories in their own words, listen to additional episodes of Against The Odds.

Transcript

[Wondery Announcer]

Wondery subscribers can listen to against the Odds early and ad free right now. Join Wondery in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Just a Note this series contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health. We have included resources at the end of the episode and in our show notes. Also, this episode contains explicit language.

[Mike Corey]

Wondery. From wondery I'm mike corey and this is against the odds in their own words. In December of 2023, Matt Ream was enjoying life as a Union boilermaker. Just 27 years old, he traveled the country rebuilding power plants, refineries and steel mills. One night he drove home to South Bend, Indiana to pack a few things to attend a friend's funeral in Missouri. After that, he planned to hit the slopes in Colorado. It was the week before Christmas and Matt found himself driving in the fog.

[Matt Rehm]

After about a mile or so. That's when I see a flash of something in the road and I think that I see pair of eyes coming from a deer.

[Mike Corey]

He swerved to avoid it. That moment was all it took.

[Matt Rehm]

The impact itself shattered everything almost instantly. So now it's just raining glass. My name is Matthew Rehm and this is my story of how I beat the odds and survived my truck for six days after a crash.

[Mike Corey]

Here's Matt's story in his own words. This is Trapped after a car crash.

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[Mike Corey]

In December of 2023, Matt Ream enjoyed plenty about his life running, hanging out with his best friend Kristen and welding. He also liked a good steak.

[Matt Rehm]

At 27 years old, I was in a fairly comfortable spot. I'd finally got myself in a position that I was happy with. I had a few great friends. I had a job that was fairly steady that I could work as much or as Little as I'd want to with finances to back that up.

[Mike Corey]

To help further his career, Matt had started an associate's program in construction technology. He was set to graduate in the coming year. But that day in December 2023, Matt found himself doing some teaching in a Chicago suburb about an hour from his home in south bend.

[Matt Rehm]

On December 20, I had been out in Hobart, Indiana, practicing welding and helping some of the younger kids in the trade learn how to weld. That evening, with it being around Christmas time, I decided to go buy a mall to do some window shopping.

[Mike Corey]

After the mall, Matt grabbed a bite to eat and began to scroll through Facebook. A friend of his had died recently and Matt felt bad about missing a public memorial service.

[Matt Rehm]

And that's when I had noticed my friend's mom posting on Facebook saying that his funeral was going to be in Missouri that Friday and I wanted to show my respects to him and his family as we had worked together on a few jobs over the last five years or so. And so I made the decision that I was going to drive from Hobart, Indiana to South Bend, pack up enough for a four or five day trip to Missouri, and have proper funeral attire. So at about 9:00 clock that night, I hopped in my truck and started driving to South Bend.

[Mike Corey]

Normally, Matt took a toll road home to South Bend. He knows the road like the back of his hand. But that night he missed his exit and ended up driving his silver Dodge ram down the i8094.

[Matt Rehm]

It was a foggy night and the amount of fog had made it to where I could only see about 200ft in front of me, which isn't that far considering I'm still going highway speeds after about a mile or so. That's when I see a flash of something in the road and, and I think that I see a pair of eyes coming from a deer. I don't want to hit it, but having lived in the south, they always tell you, hey, don't swerve to miss deers, or don't swerve to miss animals because it generally causes more problems than if you had just hit it square on. Knowing that, but knowing that I was trying to get down to Missouri for this funeral, I decided in a split second that I was going to swerve to miss this deer. And so I swerve hard to the right, going over the shoulder and partially into the grassy hill on the side of the road. And as I go to jerk my car back onto the highway, I end up hitting the outside of the guardrail, which Tears off my driver's side tire. Tears the entire fender off, the entire bumper off. Everything is happening in slow mo. And there's something in the back of my head. That says maybe I shouldn't have switched swerved. But it's not the first thing that's coming to my mind at the moment. The first thing is I need to somehow get my truck under control. And I can feel the front of the truck shutter. As everything's hit and crumpled and torn off. And I can feel my truck lurching as it loses all the steering on the driver's side. I can feel the airbag as it's deploying. At the same time, my steering wheel is being pushed up into me. My right hand is being pushed out of the way. And my left hand wasn't on the steering wheel, so it was just kind of flopping around at this point. The impact itself shattered everything Almost instantly. So now it's just raining glass. And that's when things go black and I go unconscious.

[Mike Corey]

Matt's truck spins down a hill, Hits a rocky patch, and rolls down through a creek. It comes to a stop in what's called the riprap, Those large rocks under a bridge. He's not quite sure how much time has passed. Matt checks his watch.

[Matt Rehm]

I know it's about 10:30 when I'm coming to, And I'm noticing that my body Is just screaming. Between my left leg and my hand. And my entire body's hurting.

[Mike Corey]

Matt doesn't know it, but his left leg and his right hand Are both broken. His legs are trapped, and he can't see his left leg.

[Matt Rehm]

I can tell that something's pressing up against it, which, after a little bit of investigating, I'm able to find out that my dash and my steering wheel. Had been pushed into my lap. And then down onto my right thigh. So I'm not able to pull my leg straight up and try getting it out like that. And I'm noticing that there are pieces. That feel like it's cutting into my shin on my right leg.

[Mike Corey]

Matt realizes he's pinned inside his truck.

[Matt Rehm]

For the first few minutes while I'm down there, My brain's processing everything. It's trying to figure out where I'm at, what is the situation I'm in, You know, did anybody see me? Did anybody hear it?

[Mike Corey]

His cell phone had been on the passenger seat before the crash, but it's not there now. Matt starts trying to attract attention, Hoping that someone will hear him.

[Matt Rehm]

It's the week before christmas, so I imagine that some People are driving into Chicago or out of Chicago to go see family for the holidays. And so there's a sliver of hope in my mind that thinks that somebody saw me. So I start yelling, and I yell as loud as I can for as long as I can. Help.

[Mike Corey]

Help.

[Matt Rehm]

Somebody come find me. I'm down here. And at the same time, I'm trying to hit my horn, I'm trying to restart my truck. I'm trying to hit the emergency 911 button, which isn't doing anything, anything. I'm trying to call out for my phone. I'm not getting any results from that.

[Mike Corey]

Nothing is working. Not the horn, not the emergency call button. And Siri doesn't answer from his phone. All the while, Matt's yelling. He can hear cars driving by. He doesn't know it, but there are two fire stations within five miles of him.

[Matt Rehm]

In the distance, I can hear sirens. Whether it's from a police car, an ambulance, or fire truck, I don't know. But I could hear these fire trucks get loud and loud. And to where it sounded like they were on top of me, which they were, and then they would just start disappearing into the darkness that is now encompassing me.

[Mike Corey]

Matt yells for as long as an hour.

[Matt Rehm]

At this point, my brain is so tired. My body is exhausted to the point where I end up going to sleep just because I'm hoping that I'll wake up and everything that's going on is just a dream. And that I'm going to wake up, get everything, and then drive down to Missouri. And I wake up on the second day and I realize that it's not a dream.

[Mike Corey]

The next morning, Matt assesses his situation. It's winter in Indiana and no one knows he's missing.

[Matt Rehm]

I wake up, my body is still screaming in pain. My right hand is throbbing, it's swollen, it's black and blue. It honestly doesn't look like my hand anymore. I'm covered in glass. My body's all cut up from the windows of my truck just being shattered and all that glass had got thrown around. And I spend a good deal of time just trying to tidy up and trying to get myself as much room as possible, but also trying to potentially work myself out of my truck, thinking that maybe I can disassemble enough of everything to slide out somehow or pull off a door or something like that. And that's part of the construction workers mindset that I was having.

[Mike Corey]

Matt can't feel his foot on his left leg. He can feel excruciating pain in his right ankle. He can't see his legs to know if he's bleeding, so he works on staying calm and focuses on the situation at hand.

[Matt Rehm]

My brain is catching up on everything that I was thinking and everything that I had saw the night before but maybe didn't have the mental strength to actually process. I wasn't afraid of the fact that I was stuck in my truck. There was still a kind of beacon of hope in my brain that was telling me, you know, somebody is going to stop on the highway and look down and see, hey, there's a truck down here. You know, maybe we should call 911.

[Mike Corey]

Matt's brain is also telling him that he can get himself out of this, even if he has to spend today in his truck, he finds a notebook and jots down some goals like find his cell phone and figure out how to charge it. He also makes a list of things within arm's reach.

[Matt Rehm]

I had a toolbox full of sockets and wrenches and I had some chicken wings that were on the floorboard of my passenger seat. I had a duffel bag full of a couple pairs of clothes.

[Mike Corey]

But as Matt's taking inventory, one awful fact jumps out at him.

[Matt Rehm]

The one thing that I didn't have that I knew that I was going to need very shortly was I did not have water.

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[Mike Corey]

On December 22, his second full day trapped in his truck, Matt woke up before the sun. He hadn't had anything to drink in well over 24 hours, and his throat was parched. He could hear water in the creek, but he couldn't reach it.

[Matt Rehm]

I was still hopeful. I was still fairly optimistic about. About where I was at, about my own efforts to get myself out of my truck. But there was a part of my brain that kept saying, hey, you know, like, you're not going to get out of this. You might die down here.

[Mike Corey]

Matt tries to stay positive, but it's a struggle. Even under better circumstances, he's been no stranger to depression.

[Matt Rehm]

It was a part of my brain that I kept trying to quiet down as much as possible possible because I didn't want to lose all hope. Because I knew that even though I was in a situation like this, after years of dealing with depression and anxiety and going to psychiatrists and therapists, now I'm having to face my depression and anxiety without the help of any kind of medication, and I'm having to use everything that therapy has taught me over the last few years.

[Mike Corey]

One of the things Matt tries is deep breathing in and out. Relax. But the sound of the creek seems like it's taunting him.

[Matt Rehm]

My mouth is dry. My throat's dry. It was getting to the point where I was becoming genuinely concerned about passing away due to dehydration.

[Mike Corey]

He thinks of ways he could get water and imagines a hack that involves tying cell phone charging cords and clothing together and casting them in the direction of the creek to try and soak up water. But what Matt really wants is to get himself out of his truck. So he decides to keep trying to pull off pieces of his dashboard with a Phillips screwdriver. It gives him something to focus on. He thinks how it's unseasonably warm for Indiana in December, maybe in the mid-40s. No snow. Then, to his surprise, Matt hears thunder, and it starts to rain.

[Matt Rehm]

Where my truck landed was directly under a drainage spout for the highway. All the water that was raining onto the highway and funneling into this drainage spout was falling directly onto my right shoulder, which was very uncomfortable.

[Mike Corey]

But uncomfortable or not, Matt quickly realizes that this might be the solution to his thirst.

[Matt Rehm]

While I'm now getting completely soaked. I know that I've got a bottle of mouthwash that was empty. And so I try funneling this water using the sun visor. And I redirect all this water that's falling on top of me into mouthwash bottle. And. And this water tastes horrible. It's got a mixture of gasoline and diesel, and it's gritty from all the asphalt and everything from the roads, probably mixed with a little bit of glass.

[Mike Corey]

He searches around him for something he can use as a filter.

[Matt Rehm]

I'm able to grab a pair of sweatpants that was in the duffel bag and soak up a lot of water and then kind of drink the water through the sweatpants. And it's fairly saturated. And the water still tastes horrible, but it's not crunchy water. It raining was a huge relief to me because I knew that it would give me another couple days of living to where somebody could potentially find me.

[Mike Corey]

Sleeping is also a problem. At first, Matt has to sleep pretty much sitting up. Then he figures out how to put his duffel bag on the center console and. And nap on it.

[Matt Rehm]

That would work for a couple hours until I felt kind of the blood rush into my head. And then I'd have to go back to sleep sitting straight up. And that does lead to kind of a decline in my health and my own emotional and mental state of being, Just knowing that my sleeping conditions weren't the best.

[Mike Corey]

Matt keeps trying to disassemble the dashboard to get the steering wheel off, but it isn't working. He's cold. His lower body is soaked from both the rain and also having to go to the bathroom where he sits. He worries about the urine infecting his wounds, and he begins to struggle with his thoughts.

[Matt Rehm]

Physically, I'm a mess. Emotionally, I'm going downhill very quickly. And every hour I'm down there, I'm constantly thinking, you're not going to make it. You're not going to make it. You're not, not going to make it.

[Mike Corey]

Matt's negative thoughts start to get the better of him.

[Matt Rehm]

The charging cords that I was going to be using to try to throw in the creek to try to get water, I try essentially hanging myself or suffocating myself with those. And thankfully, those break.

[Mike Corey]

Matt is extremely grateful that he fails. He returns to positive thinking because he really wants to live to see the people that he cares about, Especially his best friend, Kristen. He shifts forward enough to reach out and grab a windshield wiper, which he snaps off. He uses it to try and grab a knife from the floor of his truck.

[Matt Rehm]

I'm hoping that I can reach this knife. I'm thinking that that's what I have to do to be able to get myself out of the truck, is amputate either one or both of my legs to get myself free.

[Steve Nash]

Free.

[Matt Rehm]

I get the blade of the knife in my fingertips, and whether due to oil or water, whatever, it ends up slipping out of my grasp and underneath the passenger seat, which I know that I can't reach.

[Mike Corey]

Time starts to get hazy for Matt as day two turns into day three and then day four.

[Matt Rehm]

I have a watch on, and I'm able to know what time it is, but whether it's a.m. or p.m. that's starting to slip for me. And I'm starting to think that days are passing by a lot quicker than they are. I think that by, like, noon of the fourth day, I'm thinking that it's, you know, midnight or noon of the fifth day. And so I start trying to write in the journal more, trying to keep a more detailed kind of running of what's going on in my head and some of the things I'm facing and some of the things that I'm dealing with. And it's constantly dark because it's either rainy or cloudy out, and there's no sun out. And even when it's nighttime out, there's still the moon out, so it's still dark with some light. And during the day, it's still dark with some light. So it's hard for me to tell exactly whether it's a.m. or p.m. on.

[Mike Corey]

The fourth day, Matt wakes up to hear more traffic driving by above him, oblivious to the crash below. He can also hear squirrels chatter in the trees. He feels his body starting to atrophy because he hasn't moved in so long. He's run out of water, and he's desperately hungry. And while he's having trouble keeping track of days, he's pretty sure it's Christmas.

[Matt Rehm]

I spend the majority of that time writing in my journal some of the regrets that I had in life, that I wasn't able to do things, that I wasn't able to spend time with family that year, that, you know, this is a really shitty Christmas present for everybody to find. And I'm starting to get a little bit more philosophical and get more thoughtful in the journal, trying to say I'm sorry for not being able to make it. And it would be nice to wish for. To get out of there for a Christmas present. But my brain knows that, you know, I am stuck in here.

[Mike Corey]

Matt goes to sleep that night after praying to God, any God, that someone will find him. But the next morning, nothing has changed.

[Matt Rehm]

I'm still kind of in the same situation. I can't move. I can't get out. It had rained a little bit overnight, which I was thankful for, because now I've got a little bit of water. But I'm getting to the point where I don't think that I'm going to be making it that much longer.

[Mike Corey]

It's now been five days since the crash. Unbeknownst to Matt, today really is Christmas Day, and by now his spirits are at their lowest point.

[Matt Rehm]

The part of my brain that says that I'm not gonna make it is now one of the louder voices in my head. And it gets me to the point where I decide to start writing my obituary in this journal. Just trying to tell friends and family some of my last thoughts, some of the things that I wish I had said. But specifically for Kristen, I was apologizing for, for one, the wreck, being in that situation, for passing away, for, you know, not spending as much time with her as I wanted to. It was writing down things that I was thankful for, being able to remember, whether it was good times we had or good experiences like a bonfire or a party or something like that. Just some of my favorite memories that I had with people, whether it was Kristen or my aunt or my sister. People who mattered to me.

[Mike Corey]

After writing in his journal, Matt drifts in and out of sleep. He begins to hallucinate. He thinks he hears a construction crew working above him, and he yells for help. He thinks he sees a man in the trees, but there's no one there. He starts having weird dreams.

[Matt Rehm]

I'm being told by somebody that I need to cut off my own legs for a bounty for some kind of assassination quest. I'm starting to lose it, and I can't really tell if I'm asleep or awake at this point. Everything's just kind of melting together. And I wake up. I'm starving, I'm thirsty. I'm in pain still. My right hand is black and blue, and it's. It hurts to move any of my fingers. And so I write in the journal a little bit, just saying a final goodbye, and I end up falling asleep and honestly kind of hoping that I wasn't going to wake up.

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[Steve Nash]

Hey basketball fans, Steve Nash here. Ready to elevate your basketball IQ? I'm teaming up with LeBron James to bring you the latest season of Mind the Game and we're about to take you deeper into basketball than you've ever gone before. We're breaking down the real game, the X's and O's that actually matter. In every episode we'll share elite level strategy, dive into career defining moments and explain the why behind plays that changed a game, a team or a championship. LeBron and I have lived this game at the highest level for decades. We've been in those pressure moments and made those game changing decisions and learned from the greatest basketball minds in history. Now we're pulling back the curtain and sharing that knowledge with you. Time to go beyond the highlights and get into the real heart of basketball. Watch Mind the game now on YouTube prime video or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Mike Corey]

It's the day after Christmas in northern Indiana and two guys are out for a walk in the woods looking for a fishing hole. As Mario Garcia and his son in law Navardo de la Torre hike along the muddy path, a flash of something catches Mario's eye. He walks closer and sees a crushed silver truck with tools strewn all over the ground. It looks like there's a body inside. He reaches inside the truck towards Matt Rehm.

[Matt Rehm]

I'm kind of startled awake by something, but I look to the driver's side and I I'm seeing this hand pull the curtain airbag out of the way and my brain doesn't know if it's real or not. I'm thinking that, you know, I'm either dreaming or I'm hallucinating right now and this older guy's face kind of appears and it's you know, mid-50s. And he asked me, you know, do you live here? And I asked him, like, hey, you know, are you real? Are you actually there? And we kind of look at each other in silence for a little bit. And he sticks his hand in the window, and I grab it. I'm like, okay. You know, I feel like this is real, and I feel like I can touch it. But again, I can feel the same feelings when I'm in a dream, so I can't tell what's going on. And he calls off to somebody in the distance, hey, go up to the highway and call 911. All of a sudden, all these sirens that I've been hearing for the last six days, they're doing the same thing. They're getting loud. They're getting loud, and then they're staying loud, and then they shut off.

[Mike Corey]

When first responders get to Matt, they block off the highway. There are ambulances, firefighters, and a helicopter all there for him. It takes a while to cut Matt out of his mangled truck, and then he's medevaced to Memorial Hospital in South Bend.

[Matt Rehm]

I'm laying there, and the only thing that I have on at this point is just a blanket over me because I ended up having to cut off all my clothes and everything. And I'm laying there, and I've got so many different drugs and medication and IVs rushing through my body right now that there's a part of my brain that said, hey, you know, you're going to be okay. You're out of this. You're alive.

[Mike Corey]

Matt started to relax a bit, knowing that he was now in the hands of doctors and nurses. The painkillers gave him relief, and he soon found out the extent of his injuries.

[Matt Rehm]

My right hand, I had shattered three of the biggest bones in there that are kind of make up your fist. My right ankle was broken. My left shin was snapped in half. Whatever had been pressing against the shin to break had cut off all the circulation. So my left foot had started to rot. My face was cut up, my arms were cut up. My chest, my torso, my abs, groin, my back was all tore up from all the glass.

[Mike Corey]

Doctors perform nerve tests to see if they can save Matt's legs. His right leg remarkably seems to be okay.

[Matt Rehm]

And he gets to my left leg and he's like, okay, can you feel this, this, this, this, this? I'm like, yes, yes, yes, yes, I can feel this. And then there's a point where I'm like, okay. No, I can't feel that. Okay, how about this?

[Matt Ford]

Nope.

[Matt Rehm]

Can't feel that. And I look down and he's got all my toes in a fist. And I'm like, well, that's probably not good. And over the six days I was in my truck, having contemplated needing to amputate my own legs, there was already a part of my brain that knew, like, if you make it out of here, you're probably losing a leg. The doctor comes back a little while later and he says, okay, you know, you're probably going to be losing part of your left leg. And I'm like, okay. I was thankful that I already had time to kind of digest it and try to process it myself.

[Mike Corey]

Matt's friend Kristen rushed to visit him in the hospital the day he was rescued. She'd been texting and texting him and thought he was in the Colorado mountains, But not hearing anything had made her desperately worried. There were tears, hugs, and balloons.

[Matt Rehm]

One of the things that kept me going through some of the depression and through some of the kind of suicidal tendencies was thinking about my best friend Kristen and thinking about how much this would hurt her, knowing how devastating it would be to her to hear that I passed away.

[Mike Corey]

Doctors performed a first surgery to amputate part of Matt's left leg on December 27, the day after his rescue. By that time, Matt's dad had flown up from Atlanta to be with him. They hadn't seen each other for four years.

[Matt Rehm]

So growing up with my dad always traveling back and forth from work, we never had the closest relationship. And I come to after the surgery. My dad's there, and we're able to have a little bit more of a heart to heart. We were able to work on a lot of things in our relationship that probably wouldn't have happened otherwise.

[Mike Corey]

Matt had to have a second surgery to remove more of his damaged leg, this time just above his knee. Friends kept coming to visit, and the hospital received calls from media all over the world requesting interviews with Matt. He juggled it all as he began his road to recovery.

[Matt Rehm]

I left the hospital after three weeks. I wasn't able to get fit for a prosthetic until April and May. So there was a fair bit of time where I was only walking around with the walker or using a wheelchair while a lot of the injuries to my leg peeled up. But the recovery's been very taxing at times. It's taken a lot of energy and a lot of time to get myself to where I'm at now, to where I'm running 5Ks and I'm going to work out 3, 4, times a week if I. If I've got the energy to do it. There was a gofundme that was set up when I was in the hospital that raised a insane amount of money that I'm still kind of in disbelief about. But through that, I was able to buy a running prosthetic because those are not cheap and insurance doesn't cover them. I did a 5k last June, and I did one for Thanksgiving of last year.

[Mike Corey]

Some of the firefighters who responded to the scene ran with Matt and Mario and Novarto, the guys who found him. They came to cheer Matt on. Matt is still amazed and deeply grateful that Mario and Nevado found him. He thinks about what might have happened if things didn't line up the way they did that day.

[Matt Rehm]

The creek I was on, it was a fairly popular area during the summer to go fishing. Why they went around Christmas time, who knows? But they did. So, you know, it's still a really odd coincidence that one I was down there. But also that while they were leaving, one of them saw something shiny and was like, hey, you know, what's that? Maybe we should go check it out. If they had decided to leave 30 minutes later, it would have been dark, and they wouldn't have seen anything shiny in the area. So knowing how little the odds should actually be that they saw me, that everything worked out, is honestly kind of miraculous that I am alive today.

[Mike Corey]

Matt says he feels like he's been given a second chance at life. He's grateful for so many things. Definitely the support of the people who care about him, but also things he might have taken for granted before.

[Matt Rehm]

Every day I wake up, I am still beyond happy to be able to wake up knowing that my bed is a lot more comfortable than my truck. I'm extremely grateful for that. And being able to drink water knowing, hey, you know, this doesn't taste like asphalt and coolant and gas and diesel, you know, that's always amazing for me, and knowing that what I went through, I shouldn't have made it out alive. It is something that, you know, I'm able to wake up every day and be thankful for in terms of a second chance. A lot of it is giving appreciation where appreciation is due, but also trying to help motivate and show people through what I've been through that, you know, life can be hard, but you can still make it through.

[Mike Corey]

In May of 2024, five months after his accident, Matt graduated with his associate's degree, Summa cum laude with highest distinction. Matt wrote a book called still the seven Miracles of Matthew Rehm, co authored with Erica Celeste. Matt gives talks about his ordeal and recently went back to work as a boilermaker. Thanks so much to Matt Rehm for sharing his story with us.

[Quick Quick Quick Host 1]

If you like against the odds, you can binge all episodes early and ad free right now by joining Wondery in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey.

[Wondery Announcer]

This was In Their Own Words Trapped.

[Mike Corey]

After a Car Crash.

[Wondery Announcer]

To hear more stories from survivors in their own words, check out our other episodes. Fallen on Mount Whitney, Stranded in Joshua Tree, Bitten by a rattlesnake, Shark attack survivor and Mauled by a Grizzly.

[Mike Corey]

In this episode we discussed suicide and depression. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, the National Suicide and Crisis lifeline can be reached by calling or texting 988 I'm your host, Mike Corey. This episode was produced and written by Pauly Stryker. Original theme music by Scott Velasquez and 2K for freeze on sync series produced by Emily Frank Frost. Sound design by Joe Richardson. Managing producer is Desi Blaylock. Senior producers are Peter A.R. cooney and Andy Herman. Executive producers are Jenny Lauer Beckman and Marshall Louie for Wondery.

[Quick Quick Quick Host 1]

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[Quick Quick Quick Host 2]

A cowboy, lacy bobby socks, a diamond bracelet. Um, and a gift certificate to Sephora.

[Quick Quick Quick Host 1]

Oh, my God, that's outrageous. Carrie. Oh, wait, we're recording a commercial right now. We gotta tell them why we're doing this.

[Quick Quick Quick Host 2]

Oh, yeah, sorry, pod listeners. Okay, so we're five besties who've been friends for five million years. And we love games. So of course we made our own.

[Quick Quick Quick Host 1]

It's called Quick, quick, Quick. You just pick a card and have your partner give three answers to an outrageous question. It's fast, fun, fantastic, and a bunch of other funny adjectives.

[Quick Quick Quick Host 2]

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[Quick Quick Quick Host 1]

And you know what's incredible? There are no wrong answers. Just open your brain and say what's in it. Just quickly.

[Quick Quick Quick Host 2]

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[Quick Quick Quick Host 1]

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[Quick Quick Quick Host 2]

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