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88-Year Old Woman Survives Weekend Trapped Inside Overturned Car In Sonoma County

CALISTOGA (CBS SF) -- An 88-year-old woman was found injured on Monday morning after she spent the weekend trapped inside an overturned vehicle down an embankment in Sonoma County, according to the California Highway Patrol.

About 9:45 a.m. on Monday, the CHP received a call reporting that someone was trapped inside a vehicle that had run off the roadway and traveled about 40 feet down an embankment on Porter Creek Road, just west of Calistoga Road.

The driver of the vehicle, Jean Wright, a Saint Helena resident, had left a friend's residence in Petaluma at about 8 p.m. on Friday.

Based on the preliminary investigation, Wright was traveling east on Porter Creek Road in her 2010 Toyota Corolla when the vehicle ran off the roadway for unknown reasons and struck a utility pole, according to the CHP.

The vehicle then rolled about 40 feet down an embankment, coming to rest on its roof, according to the CHP.

Due to the remote location, the entire weekend passed without anyone spotting the car and Wright was trapped inside until Monday morning, according to the CHP.

About 9:45 a.m. on Monday, Jesus Gutierrez, 48, of Oakley, was driving a tractor-trailer west on Porter Creek Road when he thought he saw a car down an embankment. Gutierrez stopped his truck and walked to the edge of the embankment, where he was able to confirm that there was a car below.

Gutierrez flagged down a passing Sonoma County Sheriff's deputy. The deputy climbed down the embankment and found Wright trapped inside the car.

Rescue personnel and the CHP responded to the scene and extricated Wright from the vehicle. She was transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for multiple bone fractures and dehydration. She was listed in serious condition Tuesday.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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