RALEIGH, N.C. --- A 21-year-old mother of two said Wednesday that she survived five days trapped in a wrecked truck at the bottom of a ravine by squeezing water from a leaf and thinking of her family.

Amber Pennell said on NBC's Today show that she doesn't remember the crash Aug. 20 on U.S. Highway 321 in Lenoir, in rural western North Carolina, or much about the five days she spent trapped in the truck, covered by thick kudzu vines.

Ms. Pennell said she reached out a broken window to squeeze water from a leaf and recalls hearing helicopters as about 100 searchers looked for her.

She was rescued after searchers checked the location again, saw faint tire tracks and then saw part of her truck.

"I know it's a miracle that I'm alive," Ms. Pennell said.