A determined North Carolina woman used her toes to call 911 after her hands were crushed while changing a flat tire on the side of a desolate highway, officials said.

The unidentified 54-year-old Charlotte woman used “some innovative thinking” to summon help late Sunday when her hands became trapped between a spare tire and her car’s fender after a jack slipped as she traveled northbound on I-95 in South Carolina, Colleton County Fire-Rescue said in a statement.

“Over the next 35 minutes, she was able to slip off one shoe and manipulate her cell,” rescue officials said. “After many attempts she was able to dial 9-1-1 with her toes and advise them of her predicament.”

Rescue crews responded to the rural stretch of interstate in Colleton County about 8 minutes later and used a prybar to free one of the woman’s hands. Firefighters then used a hydraulic lift to release her other hand, easing the “excruciating pain” she had endured, officials said.

The woman — who said she was trapped for 45 minutes — suffered severe damage to both hands and all of her fingers, according to the statement.

She was given pain medication before being rushed to a hospital. Her condition was not immediately clear.