A 52-year-old woman who crashed her vehicle over a cliff survived for five days in the wild by sucking her rain-soaked hair for water.
Grandmother Cindy Hoover had swerved to avoid a herd of deer in the Rocky Mountains in the US when her car ran off the road and plunged down a hillside, landing on its top.
Ms Hoover suffered 12 broken ribs, fractured vertebrae, a punctured lung and sustained severe bruising to her face in the accident, which left her stranded out of sight of the highway.
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To make make matters worse, the area is renowned for its wild animals.
Ms Hoover, who had no food or water and had lost her shoes, armed herself with a golf club to fight the animals off, the Denver Post reported.
When a heavy rain storm drenched the area, Ms Hoover wrung water out of her hair to drink.
Over five days she managed to drag herself from the car and pulled herself more than 450 feet toward the Hidee Gold Mine, where she was able to cry out to tourists for help.
Central City Fire Chief Gary Allen told the Denver Post Ms Hoover's survival was down to pure guts.
"She had a heck of a will to live," he said.
"She used up three or four miracles.
"She survived the crash, she survived the elements and she was heard by people conducting mine tours."
Ms Hoover is recovering in a hospital in Denver.
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