SAN JOSE, Calif. -- It's the kind of story one would expect to unfold on a rural country road or high in the Sierra, but police confirmed Thursday that a severely injured man was discovered in a brush-filled area just yards away from a busy San Jose freeway after he had been trapped in his vehicle for three days.

Authorities said Duc Vinh Do, of Milpitas, was on his way home late Saturday night after spending the evening in San Jose when his Cadillac Escalade veered off the freeway and crashed into a tree. The only sign of the wreckage were skid marks on the I-680 freeway heading into the heavy brush.

For three days, the 31-year-old remained in the wreckage as thousands of commuters went to and from work on the roadway.

Finally on Tuesday afternoon, Do was able to painfully crawl into his backseat and find his cell phone. He dialed 911, but his ordeal was far from over.

Dispatchers were not able to local the dehydrated and pain-ravaged man using cell tower triangulation. They then dispatched patrol cars with their sirens wailing and asked Do if he could hear them. That also failed.

Then the Santa Clara County Sheriff Department's helicopter was dispatched and spotted the skid marks on a flyover. Patrol cars were dispatched to the scene. Do was discovered 20 feet off northbound I-680 at Hostetter Road.

He was rushed to a local hospital where he was recovering in an intensive care unit with severe back and other injuries.