Gone fishin’ for a miracle

MARIO Garcia and his son-in-law, Nivardo Delatorre, were killing time until their wives came home, by scouting for good fishing holes on what they thought would be “a lazy day” after Christmas.

But when a light in the distance caught their attention, Garcia and Delatorre found something entirely different on the bank of a shallow creek beneath a bridge on Tuesday afternoon: a man who had been trapped for six days inside a mangled truck.

As the men approached the wrecked truck in Portage, Indiana, they moved an air bag to touch the motorist, who they believed to be dead.

“The moment I touched the shoulder, he swung around. He woke up,” Garcia said at a news conference, noting that the man, who had visible injuries, did not know how long he had been trapped.

“He just mentioned he couldn’t feel his extremities.”

Garcia said the driver – whom police identified as Matthew Reum, 27, of Mishawaka, Indiana – looked visibly relieved he had been found.

“I’ve never seen a relief like that,” Garcia said.

Authorities are hailing Reum’s discovery and survival as a miracle.

Reum suffered “some severe, potentially life-threatening injuries” and was airlifted to hospital. He was listed as being in critical condition, but the hospital released a statement on Wednesday.

“Matt Reum wants to thank everyone for the outpouring of support and all the well wishes, including the good Samaritans who found him, the first responders and his caregivers at Memorial Hospital. He remains in critical condition at this time.

“He has asked not only for time to process everything that he has endured since last Wednesday, but also for time to rest and heal.

“Matt knows he has a story to tell, and when he is ready, he plans to share details of that experience. Until then, Matt has asked us to share this message, while also requesting privacy during this time for himself, his family and friends.”

Indiana State Police spokesperson Sergeant Glen Fifield said Reum was saved by the “curiosity” of the good Samaritans.

“It’s a miracle he’s alive,” Fifield said, adding that temperatures in the area of the crash had hit a low of 1.6ºC.

Reum was driving his truck sometime around December 20 when he lost control of the vehicle for unknown reasons.

Fifield said Reum missed the barriers and went airborne, hitting the creek bed and rolling several times before ending under the bridge. He was pinned inside the truck for six days. He survived by drinking rain water.

“The will to survive this crash was nothing short of extraordinary,” Fifield said.

As Garcia and Delatorre scouted for fishing spots, something shiny caught their attention and they realised it was a wrecked truck.

“You could barely tell what it was. It was mangled completely,” said Garcia.

The men stayed by Reum’s side until help arrived.

“He was alive and he was very happy to see us,” Garcia said, telling reporters that the man repeatedly thanked them for finding him.

Garcia and Delatorre said they were glad they made that last stop at Salt Creek. “Is it a miracle? I don’t know,” Garcia said.

“But I’m just glad that we were able to find him.” 1831

The first edition of the

Graham’s

Town Journal,

1916 mouthpiece of the Eastern Frontier settlers,is published. It soon becomes Russian known as the ‘Settlers’ Bible’. mystic and Grocott’s Mail is the oldest surviving advisor to the independent newspaper in South Tsar, Grigori Africa. In 1920 it is bought by, and Rasputin is finally murdered, after incorporated into Grocott’s Daily, several failed attempts, by loyalists. which exists today at Grocott’s Mail. He is lured to a home, supposedly Since 2003 it has been under the survives poisoning, is then shot three ownership of Rhodes University, times, and, supposedly still alive, with the broad objective to ensure is bound and dumped in the Neva the survival of the paper and to use River, in which he drowns. it for the teaching of journalism But a lot of what is said about him students at the university. has been distorted over time because, 1865Kipling

as George Orwell put it, “history Rudyard is written by the winners”, and is

is commonly accepted as fact. born in Much of the fascination with Mumbai, Rasputin has to lie in the sheer India. A British poet, novelist, short unbelievability of his personal story. story writer, he is best known for his He was born a peasant in a tiny children’s stories, such as The Jungle village in a remote part of Siberia, Book. He won the 1907 Nobel Prize and, by all sorts of ways, managed for Literature. to make it into the imperial palace and be presented to Nicholas and Alexandra. Exuding charisma, he charms them so utterly that they quickly refer to him as “our friend” and talk of the hours with him as the best parts of their life. It all has a fairy-tale quality to it, but there is no happily ever after.

A much more benevolent figure than is made out, Rasputin tried to have a positive influence on the royals and had they listened, it could have changed history. True, 1897 Zululand is annexed by the Colony of Natal. 1903 A fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois, kills at least 605 people. THE educated 1922 1987

and urbane The USSR Robert (Union Mugabe, of Soviet above, prime minister of Zimbabwe Socialist for the previous 7 years, is elected Republics) is established through the President, due to constitutional confederation of Russia, Belorussia, reform which allows him to stay on Ukraine and the Transcaucasian for another 30 years. Federation. “Only God who appointed me,” he said in 2008, “will remove me.” In the end it was the military for a while he virtually dictated that did. Nelson Mandela, in government policy through the conversation with former newspaper Tsarina while Nicholas was away editor Allister Sparks, said: “The during World War I, which Rasputin trouble with Mugabe is that he was opposed. For that he was vilified as the star – then the sun came up.”

2006 a traitor and once the war got into full swing, the rumour mills and spy Saddam mania ripped through society. It’s no Hussein, the surprise, then, that he had plenty of overthrown jealous enemies within the palace. president of

Whether he was, as the Boney M Iraq is hanged so violently that he is song put it, the “lover of the Russian decapitated.

2016 queen” is doubtful as she was always surrounded by servants who did not A ceasefire corroborate the gossip. brokered

In the end, Rasputin was an easy by Russia, scapegoat for Russia’s problems and Iran and his murder by loyalists did not bring Turkey between Syria’s government about the hoped for radical changes and opposition groups takes effect. of the Tsar and Tsarina’s politics, The US was sidelined after years of leading up to the start of the Russian fruitless discussions between the Revolution in March 1917. foreign ministers of Russia and the

US over Syria.