Jerry Jouret is a miracle. The 81-year-old American survived for almost a week in his car, stuck under a thick layer of snow. On February 24, the octogenarian had left his vacation home located in Big Pine, California, to reach his home in Nevada, tells his grandson to CNN. But he got trapped in a storm.
For several days, the man saved his SUV’s battery, occasionally turning it on to warm up. He only had a windbreaker, a blanket and a bath towel in his car. This former NASA employee followed the advice he heard on the reality show “Survivor” in order to save time: he fed on croissants, candies, and drank slush through his open window.
No hypothermia
It was also while trying to close it that the SUV’s battery failed after three days. Jerry Jouret therefore spent the rest of his ordeal with icy air entering the cabin directly. “I imagine he must have been afraid to live his last moments”, confides the grandson of the American to the BBC.
Eventually, the man declared missing by his family was able to be located by the police. But the intervention of the rescuers was delayed by the weather conditions. A helicopter picked up the old man after six days and rushed him to hospital. The octogenarian, in perfect health and with no sign of hypothermia, was able to quickly find his loved ones.
” Never give up “
Jerry Jouret returned to his home in the California mountains before taking the bus, safely. He told CNN to recover slowly from this misadventure, while confiding his trauma. His grandson alerts motorists in the event of a storm and draws a message of hope from this incident. “If someone gets tricked, don’t give up hope. Some of us thought he was screwed. Never give up hope”.
California has not been spared in recent weeks. Many residents were trapped by heavy snowfall and towns were cut off from the world. Several deaths were recorded at the end of this cold snap. More recently, a new storm hit the state, causing massive flooding that broke a dike on the Pajaro River on Saturday. Two deaths are to be deplored and thousands of people have been forced to evacuate.
