A missing Indiana woman trapped in her vehicle for nearly a week managed to stay by dipping her sweatshirt into a small creek behind the wrecked car for water as she waited desperately for rescue, family members said.

Brieonna Cassell, 41, of Wheatfield, was found after a man working in the area saw a vehicle off a roadway and out of view of traffic, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Tuesday.

Cassell was driving near the Newton County Landfill on Thursday when it’s believed she fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed, NBC Chicago reported. The car veered off the road and came to a stop in an embankment.

The sheriff’s office said she was the sole occupant in the vehicle and was conscious and speaking when she was found.

“Despite her injuries, Cassell had survived 6 days waiting to be rescued,” the sheriff’s office said.

Cassell was taken to a Chicago area hospital and has since been reunited with her parents and her children, according to NBC Chicago. Her family said she suffered broken ribs, fractures in her arm and both legs, and a big scratch on her forehead. Cassell was severely dehydrated and was scheduled to have surgery on Wednesday morning, the family said.

Her father told the news station that Cassell could hear cars driving by and was screaming for help. Her mother said she survived by dipping her sweatshirt into a small creek behind the wrecked vehicle.

“She would take her hoodie … and suck on it to have water,” Kim Brown said.

“She persevered. She wanted to stay alive,” her father, Delmar Caldwell, said.