| LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A 5-year-old girl is in stable condition Wednesday, a day after she was discovered by highway workers near the scene of a car crash that killed her mother about 10 days ago, according to police and hospital officials.
Ruby Bustamante survived by drinking Gatorade and eating dried noodles found in the car, according to family members.
Police believe Norma Bustamante, 26, drove off a highway near Banning, California, about 70 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, plunging 400 feet over the guardrail to her death, according to Capt. Bob Clark, commander of the California Highway Patrol's station in Banning.
"It appears that the crash, the collision did occur 10 days ago," Clark said. "We're really not sure exactly how long, we're assuming it's been 10 days because of the amount of time that they've been missing."
"I couldn't imagine having to survive like that for 10 days without any help," Clark said. "It's amazing she was able to live that long."
Clark said police believe Ruby and her mother were reported missing from nearby Indio, California.
California transportation workers, repairing the guardrail on Freeway 60, "noticed movement approximately 150 feet down a steep embankment," according to a CHP report.
Rescuers, right, prepare to remove the body of the girl's mother on Tuesday.
The workers found Ruby, who "appeared to be uninjured, but was hungry and thirsty" near the site of the crash, the report said.
They also discovered the "very decomposed" body of the child's mother.
The girl is in stable condition at Riverside County Regional Medical Center, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
She was able to eat a hamburger and drink some apple juice, according to hospital sources.
Her great-grandfather, Bill Cooney, criticized the CHP and other authorities for not searching for Ruby and Norma Bustamante when they were reported missing on April 4, according to The Associated Press | |
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