Drivers’ Heroic Road Rescues
Wednesday - July 12, 2006
| Share
Del.icio.usDear Pamela,
About a month ago I received a message from the Handi-Van dispatcher stating that one of their drivers, Tim, had stopped to help my son. He noticed my son walking by the Moanalua on-ramp going toward the entrance of Fort Shafter. The message said my son had been walking dangerously close to the road and even crossed the street to the side of the freeway. I could not believe this was actually happening. Our family is very grateful that someone good was watching out for my son. We are lucky that this situation had a very happy and safe outcome.
Jeannette De Jesus
Mililani
Dear Jeannette,
Tim Earhart, a Handi-Van driver for 16 years, says he thought it was unusual to see a young boy walking along the road. “I thought, oh no, this is dangerous, so I pulled over and waited for him to pass the van. I opened the door and very calmly said, hi, where are you going? I didn’t want to scare him. He said he was going to meet his dad at Ala Moana Center, which was miles away. I called dispatch and they called his mom. Turns out he and another boy were AWOL from after-school care, so I drove him back to school near Bishop Museum. This is nothing unusual for us drivers. It’s in our natures to look out for people, and we all find this part of the job very satisfying.”
Dear Pamela, I was driving home on the freeway headed diamondhead. It was raining, and the traffic was very slow. As I got closer to the LikeLike off-ramp, I saw a huge Island Movers transport trailer stopped in the middle of the freeway. The two Island Movers guys were out of the trailer pushing a (stalled, I assume) van to the side of the freeway, two lanes away. That these guys would stop to assist in the middle of rush hour and pouring rain is very special. Whoever they are, they should be recognized for their good deed.
Helen Gibson Ahn
Moanalua
Dear Helen,
The Island Movers office sent out e-mails and messages to their drivers, and so far no one has responded to take credit for
this freeway rescue. Lance Terayama, Island Movers president, is not surprised. “We get a lot of compliments on our employees,” he says. “I think they’re a little shy because this is just part of their everyday work mentality. I think they know they did something good. After all, we are a part of our community.”
(If you know someone who deserves some Applause, send your letters to Pamela Young, MidWeek Applause, KITV, 801 S. King St., Honolulu, HI, 96813 or e-mail pyoung@kitv.com. Include your name, phone number and, if possible, the phone number of your “applaudee” so we can contact him or her.)
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS Comments (0) |
Most Recent Comment(s):
