Minn. woman stuck in car on icy pond for 18 hours
BY AP Wire Service
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
1/15/13 at 6:01 AM
'MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Nancy Breberg was lost, creeping along on slippery roads in search of the suburban hotel where she was meeting her husband when her SUV slid off the road and down an embankment onto an icy pond. For the next 18 hours, the 67-year-old woman was trapped, praying for help as water seeped over her feet and temperatures plunged into the teens.
Breberg, a diabetic, might not have survived if a passing bicyclist hadn't spotted her vehicle's wheel sticking up. When he went to investigate, he saw someone in a pink jacket moving inside. Then Breberg called out for help.
"She was pretty weak," bicyclist Geoffrey Racette, of Plymouth, Minn., said on Monday, as Breberg was recovering at a Minneapolis hospital. "She said that she wasn't able to get out of the car and was stuck in there. She couldn't crawl out the back."
Racette, 20. crawled through the back window and fed Breberg some Chex Mix he had been carrying on his ride. She pointed him to her bag of medication, which he retrieved and handed over to paramedics who soon arrived.
Breberg's husband, Ron Breberg, 66, of Centerville, Minn., said she was at Hennepin County Medical Center on Monday, where she was expected to recover.
Friday evening, Nancy Breberg was struggling to find the hotel where her husband's Shrine club was having a dinner when her SUV veered off the road and landed on the pond, according to the police report and her husband. The impact broke the ice and allowed some water into the passenger compartment.
The water shorted out the vehicle's electrical system, so she couldn't open the windows, unlock the doors or summon help via OnStar, said her husband, who led a futile all-night search for her. She had no food but sucked on a piece of ice to get some water, he said.
"She was just hoping and praying that somebody could find her," he said.
Racette found her just after noon Saturday.
Original Print Headline: Woman trapped on ice 18 hours
Associated Images:
Breberg
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