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Injured Man Survives A Week After San Jose Highway 101 Crash

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) - An injured man survived without food or water for one week after crashing his pickup truck along a Highway 101 ramp in San Jose, according to police.

25-year-old Michael Sanchez was in critical but stable condition at a hospital. San Jose police Officer Jose Garcia said it was a miracle Sanchez was found unconscious but alive Tuesday.

He was last seen on May 8, the same day that investigators said his car was towed after a single-vehicle rollover off Highway 101 near Hellyer Ave.  No one was in the car.

California Highway Patrol officers searched for the driver in the immediate area for about an hour and gave up. Witnesses had reported seeing a man walk away from the scene.

Sanchez's family reported him missing when he didn't show up for a funeral last Thursday. Detectives found out from the CHP that his truck had been in a crash days earlier.

Detectives returned to the crash site Tuesday and found the man in a dense thicket of brush and trees between the freeway ramps.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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