I-15 Crash Victim Seeks 'Hayden,' The Good Samaritan Who Saved Her

TEMECULA, CA — Torey Shanklin feels lucky to be alive after flipping her Mercedes off the I-15 freeway and into a Temecula drainage ditch six days ago. The Carlsbad resident attempted to navigate the I-15 northbound in a torrential rainstorm through Temecula on her way to Palm Springs for a business meeting.

She didn't make it to the meeting, but she did survive — thanks to the help of a stranger.

"Before I even had the chance to pull over, I was hydroplaning," she told reporters. The next thing she knew, she was hanging upside down by her seatbelt in a flood channel. With all airbags deployed, she found it hard to move, she said.

"I felt so trapped and helpless," she said. "I tried to break the windows, but nothing was working. I was thinking, 'now I'm going to drown right here.'"

She could not roll down a window or break the glass. Suddenly, a good Samaritan stopped to lend a helping hand and help her from the upside-down car.

The man she only knows as "Hayden," a man in his 20s, helped her make her way out of the car through the trunk.

"He gets the trunk open and pulls me out, and I break down crying," she said. Her rescuer did not stay after the emergency crews arrived, and now she wants to meet her guardian angel and thank him.

She told reporters she wasn't sure if she'd be here today if he hadn't stopped, "but I'm glad I didn't have to find out."

The sight of the flipped car became a public service message for the Temecula California Highway Patrol, which has responded to numerous crashes during the rainy month of March.

"The posted speeds are for premier driving conditions when it's clear skies and sunny out," Temecula CHP officer Mike Lassig said. "Driving too fast can lead to hydroplaning, spinning out, or crashing. During these rainstorms, drivers need to slow down."

If you know Hayden, give us a shout!