Hear from the officer who found the woman

CALDWELL -- A Caldwell woman suffered some major injuries after crashing into a canal Thursday morning.

According to Idaho State Police, 34-year-old Dora Ramirez was headed westbound on Interstate 84 around 3 a.m. when she ran off the highway and into a canal.

The accident happened at mile marker 30.5 near the Caldwell Airport.

Ramirez was ejected from the vehicle and lay on the dirt next to her white Dodge Caravan for nearly four hours before help arrived.

ISP Specialist Pat Mooney noticed skid marks on I-84 around 6:40 a.m. He followed them to the canal where he saw the back end of the SUV sticking up.

Mooney believes Ramirez fell asleep at the wheel, drifted into the median and then overcorrected, coming across both westbound lanes of the interstate.

He says the van rolled onto the driver's side, vaulted into the air, throwing Ramirez from the vehicle. She was not wearing a seat belt.

Ramirez is in the intensive care unit at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise with a broken leg, back and internal injuries. 

She underwent surgery last night to remove debris from her left side. And is scheduled to have another surgery today to begin reconstruction on her back and hips.