Washington, D.C. ? James McCormick drove by a ravine near his Laurel, Md., home many times in the week since his 18-year-old son disappeared, oblivious to the fact that his son lay trapped in a car wreck below.

On Saturday, Julian McCormick stopped waiting for someone to find him in his upside down Honda Civic. Injured and dehydrated, he somehow managed to climb out of the car and up to the side of the road, where a woman driving with her mother spotted him.

McCormick was able to tell her his name and other facts, but didn’t know how long he had been there, said the woman, Leigh Ann Hess.