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A driver didn’t just stop after a couple was in a car accident. He helped for days: NPR

On this week’s Hidden Brain’s “My Unsung Hero,” Apryle Oswald thanks the man who stopped to save her after a car accident.



ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Now it’s time for My Unsung Hero, our series from the team at Hidden Brain. My Unsung Hero tells the stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone. Today’s story is by Apryle Oswald. In 1997, she was on a road trip with her boyfriend and two dogs. As they were driving through a town called Lovelock, Nevada, one of the dogs suddenly tried to jump into the front seat. Oswald skidded and lost control of the car.

APRYLE OSWALD: And the car rolled over for about 100 meters. I unbuckled my seatbelt, got out of the car, started screaming for him, and then completely collapsed. Now it was freezing temperatures, probably in the 20s. And the two dogs were alive too, but one was very seriously injured. Well, my boyfriend at the time went out into the street and tried to stop people. And this was the middle of the night, so no one stopped. And so, in the middle of a cold Nevada night, he took off his jacket and tossed it to a man who finally stopped. I ended up having to be airlifted to a nearby hospital, so thank God this guy stopped.

Then for the next three nights he drove our dog back and forth from the vet clinic where he was getting blood transfusions to the hotel where my friend was staying. And he also drove my friend back and forth to the hospital where I was supposed to be seen and to the hotel where he was staying.

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OSWALD: I mean, I honestly don’t know if I would have survived if that guy hadn’t stopped and helped me.

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OSWALD: I don’t know his name. I don’t know who he is. Since I was feeling pretty bad, I don’t know what he looked like. But he not only stopped, but also continued to help in the next few days.

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OSWALD: I don’t even know that we ever had a proper opportunity to thank him. I know I didn’t. But what an amazing thing for a stranger.

SHAPIRO: Apryle Oswald lives in Bermuda and you can find more stories like this on the My Unsung Hero podcast.

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