Single-Vehicle Crash Victim Trapped 33 Hours with Broken Neck, Survives

After being involved in a single-vehicle crash and falling into an embankment, Shaun Lee, from Moncks Corner, S.C., had to resort to honking and prayer after getting pinned down by the steering wheel.

Lee, a South Carolina driver, suffered a broken neck during the collision and was trapped upside down for 33 hours before any help arrived. 

Lee managed to cheat death inside the rental car after the accident that reportedly took place in western Montana at 12:15 a.m. last Thursday. 

The 30-year-old told reporters he could do nothing but honk his horn and pray for help after becoming pinned down by the steering wheel.

Drifting in and out of sleep while trapped, he imagined he was "dead, dying or pinned ... or all three," he said from his Missoula hospital bed on Monday.

Forest Service worker Benji Hegg spotted the wrecked vehicle at around 9:15 a.m. the following morning, approximately 33 hours after the single-vehicle crash and called for help.

Rescuers were radioed in to the site. 

To extricate the trapped man, they had to cut through the vehicle. Once extricated, he was carried up the embankment on a backboard and then transported to the hospital. 

Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Wade Palmer cited Lee for reckless driving.

Lee told reporters that he had traveled to North Dakota in search of work in the oil fields but decided to continue to Montana to visit an aunt.

He was looking for a motel but accidentally took a wrong turn and, before long, ended up sliding down a wet dirt road.

"Emergency brake on, got the foot brake on," Lee remembered. "It's going faster and faster. Next thing I know she flipped upside-down and boom."

He is expected to recuperate. Officials did not say if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Automotive accidents can happen just about everywhere and at unsuspecting times. It is important to be prepared. If you were in an accident that happened through no fault of your own and were injured, make sure to contact a car accident lawyer in your area, especially if your insurance group expects you to fight on your own. 

Don’t be caught fighting an insurance company on your own. Contact a reputable car accident lawyer in Orange County to fight for you!

A lawyer that cares about you and your case will make sure that your automotive damages are fixed and that you are set up with a doctor who will help tend to your injuries.