Motorist Recovering After Being Trapped for 2 Days

As paramedics rolled Jolene Donohue into the hospital Friday afternoon, she had some proud words to offer: “I’ve got good health and I’m tough too,” she said, according to her son, John Donohue.

Jolene Donohue, a 52-year-old widow from Santa Clarita with four sons who operates her own industrial welding distribution and supply business, had endured two nights trapped in her crumpled car without food or water before being spotted by a motorist in Sylmar.

Saturday, she remained in serious but stable condition at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, recuperating from surgery on her fractured right ankle, a nursing supervisor said.

And now that she is recovering, she is making wisecracks from her hospital bed, her son said.

“She’s concerned about who’s cooking Christmas dinner,” said John Donohue, 27, also of Santa Clarita. “ 1/8Her recovery 3/8 made it the best Christmas ever. Nothing can ever replace this Christmas.”

Donohue’s ordeal began Wednesday night when her car veered off an embankment on the westbound Foothill Freeway, rolled over and came to rest wheels down in rugged terrain 70 feet below the highway, authorities said.

She couldn’t recall what caused the accident, her son said.

A passing motorist, John Teslich, spotted Donohue when he pulled off the Foothill Freeway about 10 a.m. Friday. Teslich, 42, said he was en route from Stockton to Arizona to spend Christmas with his family.

Teslich “decided to pick that one area to stop,” said John Donohue. “It is a miracle. All we could do is thank God we got our mom back,” Donohue said. “We thought we lost her.”