Timeline Joe Spring
by Traciy Curry-Reyes
May 21, 2001:
Joe Spring, 19, is excited about going to his friend’s
graduation. He is desperate to arrive on time and drives all night. He is driving his red sports car when suddenly
his car veers off the road, hits a tree, and goes down an embankment. Joe Spring is trapped
inside his car. His ankle is broken and he is hungry. Joe Spring’s parents, Teresa and Tim Spring, frantically try to find out what has
happened to their son.
May 28, 2001:
Helicopters launch a search for the missing teen. The rescue search goes on for days and is
almost called off until Jodeen Cassidy, a helicopter pilot thinks she sees something red right off the road. As helicopter pilot, Cpl. RAMEY starts to walk down he sees debris strewn about, then he can actually see someone in the car. When he gets closer, he sees his arm move. He shouts: He's alive!!!
When he is rescued he is barely conscious and a little disoriented. He is also dehydrated, weak, and has lost weight. There are also some broken ribs and some kidney issues, but other than that he is ok. Joe Spring has beat the odds. The police and all of the rescuers are so shocked that he could survive under those conditions for eight days. When his mother sees a picture of his car on the news she starts to cry. She cannot imagine how he could have survived such an ordeal.
The whole time Joe Spring was thinking of how devastated his family would be if he didn't survive. It was this though that kept him going.
Tidbits
According to police sources, he would not have survived another day most likely. His will to live and a bottle of water is what kept him alive.
After surviving the ordeal Joe Spring's family did several interviews in Canada. The female helicopter pilot also did interviews about her finding Joe Spring. In one interview, she talked about the hunch that she had that he was still alive and that she would find him. She had actually dreamed that she would find the red car on the side of the embankment.
Cited Sources
CTV Television
NBC News May 2001