Every once in a while there comes a story that makes you believe there truly are guardian angels floating over everyoneโs shoulders, and that everything does happen for a reason. This story about how one womanโs car malfunction led to the rescue of 23-year-old husband and father, Steven Ackerman, is one of them.
Robert Hooper, a driver for All Star Automotive Repair and Towing, was out on what he thought was another ordinary call to help 69-year-old Janie Smith, whose gas pedal just gave out on her. While he was going through his routine of loading the car up onto the ramp, he heard Janie say, โOh, thereโs a blue car over there!โ
Sure enough, when he investigated, there was a blue car down in the ditch. Somehow, despite there being no visible signs of an accident, a small sedan had made its way down the hill.
โHe missed all the road signs, didnโt knock anything over. Just kind of mowed some grass down,โ Robert said, incredulous.
The car was badly smashed, scrunched in the front like an accordion. To the average observer, it appears to be a fatal wreck. And that is precisely what Robert thought, especially when he approached nearer and thought he saw a body hanging out of the driverโs side door. But then he heard a low mumble for help, and thatโs when he sprang into action.
Though his emotions were on high from seeing someone who he thought was dead turn out to be alive, Hooper knew he needed to act quickly if he wanted to save the manโs life. While Smith called for help, Hooper did everything he could to make the man more comfortable, and to make it easier for paramedics to remove him from the car once they did arrive. โThere was a bunch of sticks and everything just hanging off, and it was all in the cab of the car, and thatโs what I was ripping offโฆjust trying to make it better for him.โ In the end, Hooper did much more than โmake it better for him,โ thoughโhe saved the manโs life.
If youโre not a believer in fate, this story is enough to change your mind. Had Janieโs gas pedal chosen to give out even ten feet farther down the road, or just a minute sooner, Ackerman may never have been found.
โIt keeps bothering my head,โ said Robert. โIf I wouldnโt have walked down thereโฆitโs not a good thoughtโฆWho, or when, would he have got found, if he would have got found.โ
โIโve always been a believer,โ Janie says after paramedics took Ackerman โ later identified by his mother-in-law โ to a nearby hospital, โbut, Iโm a believer that I was here to help that man.โ
Thanks to Janie, Robert, and Stevenโs guardian angel, Steven was able to return to his family within a week. The universe works in mysterious ways, and thankfully it does; otherwise, miracles such as the one youโre about to witness would not be possible.
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[Source: USA TODAY]
