Updated

A 93-year-old California woman survived 11 hours in her car after the vehicle plunged 50 to 60 feet down a highway embankment Friday.

Genevieve Couch, of Maryville, told Fox 40 that she tried to get out of her damaged car, but the driver’s side door was blocked by a tree, while the passenger side was surrounded by prickly bushes.

Couch tried to beat away the bushes using her cane, but suffered puncture wounds from the thorns.

Stuck inside the car, Couch made a makeshift bandage for herself and waited for hours while police and a California Highway Patrol helicopter searched for her. Responders on the scene were initially unable to locate Couch in the deep brush off Highway 70, Fox 40 reports.

"I wasn't scared. I was just dying for a drink of water," Couch said.

Passers-by spotted Couch 11 hours after the crash and alerted police, who rescued her.

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