To the Editor:

The following letter was written in response to an act of kindness to my husband and me while on a trip to Oriental, N.C.

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PotashCorp-Aurora

Att: Human Resource Dept.

We are writing to let you know of three good Samaritans who work at your company. They are Ernie Murray, Justin Andrews and Jesse Woolard.

Early Saturday evening, Nov. 26, what was to be the initial leg of our first retirement vacation, we were hit by a deer on N.C. Highway 33. The deer destroyed the driver’s window, mirror and windshield before bouncing off the top, onto the trunk and off. My wife was driving. She was able to pull over to the side of the road, but her face, eyelashes and hair were covered with glass. She was bleeding with glass that cut the inside of her mouth. It had seemed as if the front of the car exploded. Glass was everywhere.

Minutes after the accident, Ernie Murray of Washington stopped his car, got my wife out of our car and began gently blowing the glass from her face (brilliantly stopping her from brushing it away and perhaps rubbing it into her eyes and skin).

Ernie made sure we were OK and didn’t need to go to the hospital. He then called his friend, Justin Andrews of New Bern, who also came to our aid and helped direct traffic away from the accident site. They called the Highway Patrol and stayed with us for close to 1 1/2 hours until a tow truck arrived.

Justin called his friend at Hardison’s Tire and Oil in Alliance so we could park our car safely until we decided what we could do. Unbelievably, Ernie gave us his car to use so we could get to the Captain’s Quarters in Oriental. Another friend, Jesse Woolard of Chocowinity, seeing the accident and his friends’ cars, also stopped to see if he could help and he drove Ernie to work while we followed Justin on to Alliance in Ernie’s car.

We are still dumbstruck by the generosity of these three young men who gave us comfort and aid. Without them, we would not have been able to tell AAA where we were. Who knows how long we could have been left by the side of the road, or if we would have met with the same kindness. We all hear stories of people who turn a blind eye when they see others in need of help. Not so on this lonely road in North Carolina. We have been truly blessed to have been helped and guided by these three wonderful men. We’re sure their families and friends know what special people they are, but we wished their employer to know also.

SUZANNE/DONALD KOPCZYNSKI
Easton, Md.

P.S. Ernie also lent us his car to drive to Savannah, Ga., so we could enjoy at least part of our dreamed-of vacation.