77-year-old woman survives 18 hours pinned under her SUV

WHITEHALL, N.Y. – A 77-year-old upstate New York woman has survived being pinned under a sport utility vehicle for 18 hours.

Police tell the Glens Falls newspaper The Post-Star that Whitehall resident Shirley Coderre exited her SUV on Monday afternoon but had neglected to shift it into park. Troopers say when she noticed and tried to get back in she was knocked down by the driver’s side door and the vehicle rolled on top of her in the driveway of her rural home, pinning one leg under a wheel.

State police Sgt. Luke Splittgerber tells the newspaper one of the woman’s legs was fully pinned and the other was partially pinned under the vehicle, which wasn’t visible from the road. He says the woman never lost consciousness.

Troopers say the woman lives alone and endured a night with temperatures in the low 50s and rain showers. She was discovered Tuesday morning by a neighbour who heard her calls for help.

Local firefighters removed her from beneath the SUV. She was airlifted to a hospital for treatment.

A hospital spokesman says the woman is recovering in the surgical intensive care unit.