According to CNN, Autumn Veatch, who was a lone survivor of a plane crash that killed her grandparents left the hospital late Tuesday, hospital spokeswoman Melanie Neddo confirmed. Autumn was flying with her grandparents, Leland and Sharon Bowman, in a small private plane when the crash occurred.
Autumn told authorities that the plane crashed and caught fire after flying into a bank of clouds. She stayed at the crash site for a day and her father later told reporters that Autumn tried to pull her step-grandparents, Leland and Sharon Bowman, from the plane with no success.
The 16 year old was covered in burns and bruises as she reportedly hiked out of the rugged North Cascades Mountains two days after Saturday’s crash, police said. She flagged down a passing motorist, who then drove her to a store in Mazama, Washington, near the Canadian border. The man called police before handing Autumn the phone.
“So tell me exactly what happened,” the dispatcher told the girl, according to a transcript of the call.
“I was riding from Kalispell, Montana, to Bellingham, Washington, and … well, I don’t know where, but we crashed and I was the only one that made it out,” Autumn said calmly and in a low voice.
“Made it out from the collision?”
“From the plane,” she said.
“Or survived?”
“Yeah, the only one that survived.”
“Are you injured at all?”
“Yeah, I have a lot of burns on my hands, and I’m … kind of covered in bruises and scratches and stuff.”
Autumn’s friend Chelsey Clark said the girl who slept part of the day appeared to be in good condition following the plane crash.
“It is a miracle what happened. We never gave up hope and we just felt like she was still with us,” Clark said. “It’s absolutely amazing to see her in good spirits.”
But Autumn is struggling with the loss, Veatch told CNN affiliate KCPQ.
“These people were really playing the part of grandparents to her and that’s hitting her really hard,” he said.