I had the pin that holds the cable break apart on one of mine once. Not the safest thing, but I started it up in park, Pulled the e-brake as hard as I could, opened up the hood, and reached down to the gear selector on the passenger side of the transmission to put it into drive, while at the same time ready to pop it back in neutral in case it happened to start moving. And was able to get back in the car and drive it home where I put the cable back on with a new pin.
It can be done without crawling on the ground.
*disclaimer, I do not advise anyone to use the above method and am not responsible should injury occur to you, your car, or bystanders.