Robert Amundsen, 61, of Hobart, suffered two broken legs and a broken right arm in the crash on Tuesday, police said. He was alert and talking when he was found, police said, and was taken by helicopter to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill., where he was listed in critical condition Wednesday.
The crash occurred about 6:30 a.m. a few miles west of Valparaiso.
It wasn't until Joanne Blachly went to her mailbox six hours later that she saw the car at the bottom of the ditch. The car couldn't been seen from the road by motorists.
``I had no idea anyone was in an accident down there,'' she said. ``This isn't the first time a car has landed in the ditch, but more frequently they end up in my front yard.''
She called 911 and asked her neighbor Ken Passe to check on the car.
``I was surprised when he raised his head and started talking,'' Passe said.
Porter County police spokesman Ryan Jones said Amundsen accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brakes and ran into the ditch.
Amundsen told rescuers he was unable to get out of the car, and firefighters had to cut the roof off the car to free him.
