Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
AMERICAN FORK CANYON — A woman was found alive Thursday after being trapped inside her wrecked car in American Fork Canyon for two days when she drove through a guardrail and ended up several hundred feet down the mountain.
Heather Blackwelder, 29, from Highland, was coming down SR-92 near the Pine Hollow Trailhead on Tuesday when her car went off the road, said Sgt. Spencer Cannon with the Utah County Sheriff's Office. Her car landed right side up but it was hidden in the thick trees and vegetation and she was unable to get out of the car.
A man and woman in the area were taking pictures on Thursday and heard her calls for help. When they found her, they saw that she was seriously injured. The man stayed with Blackwelder while the woman went to Mutual Dell to call for help.
Blackwelder was flown by LifeFlight to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in serious condition but her injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, said Cannon.
Blackwelder had not been reported missing, according to Cannon.
"Had somebody not found her today or the next day or so she would have died," Cannon said. "It could literally have been years before she was found. (The area) is not a hiking trail, it's not along a trail. It has thick trees and is on the side of the mountain. The car could have been well rusted before she was found."
Contributing: Dave Cawley, Ashley Kewish, Ben Lockhart
