WOMAN, 22, WALKS A MILE AFTER TRUCK CRASHES INTO SWAMP IN MICHIGAN; NO ONE INITIALLY STOPPED TO HELP, FATHER SAYS. BUT A LADY FINALLY STOPPED AND HELPED HER

WOMAN, 22, WALKS A MILE AFTER TRUCK CRASHES INTO SWAMP; NO ONE INITIALLY STOPPED TO HELP, FATHER SAYS.  BUT A LADY FINALLY STOPPED AND HELPED HER

MONTCALM COUNTY, Mi -- A 22-year-old Greenville woman who managed to crawl out of a pickup truck that flipped upside down into a swamp had to walk a mile, soaking wet, to find help because no one would stop to assist her, the woman's father said.

Darian Newman, 22, had been a passenger in a 1995 Ford Ranger driven by a male friend Wednesday morning, Jan. 14. The two were traveling on Grow Road, south of Carson City Road (M-57) in Fairplain Township when the driver lost control on snow-covered pavement, police said.

The pickup veered off the left side of the road, rolled down an embankment and landed on its roof after breaking through icy swamp water.

"The next thing she knew, water was rushing in," John Newman said of his daughter, Darian Newman. 

The young woman managed to crawl through an open door in the truck's cab as it filled with icy water. She found her 33-year-old friend face-down in the snow nearby and realized he was badly hurt, John Newman said. 

"She told him she had to leave him to go get help," the father said, recalling how his daughter told him she could only tell her friend to "hold on." 

"She walked almost a mile to M-57. No one would stop for her," John Newman said. "The adrenaline, I guess, was the only thing that kept her going."

No one would stop for her. The adrenaline, I guess, was the only thing that kept her going - John Newman, victim's father

Finally, an elderly woman saw Darian Newman and stopped. She took her back to the scene and Darian was soon able to call 911 to alert dispatchers to the emergency. 

John Newman learned of the crash sometime later and met with his daughter, who has been staying by her friend's side at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital. 

Darian Newman suffered only a bump to the head and other minor cuts.

Her friend, whom police have not identified, was flown to the Grand Rapids hospital to be treated for a brain injury and a broken back, John Newman said.

The injured driver underwent surgery Wednesday night, Newman was told.

He learned his daughter and her friend had encountered what she described as "black ice" on the road they had been traveling. 

He's so thankful now simply to know she is safe, but he also feels the weight of what a dangerous situation it was -- how fragile life can be, he said.

"I've tried to teach my kids — Pay attention, look around, see what's happening. Think, then react," John Newman said. He recalls words spoken to his daughter later. "See now, see how fast life can change in a single second?"