The Kindness Of Strangers

by Anita
(United States)

You never know when a stranger is going to reach out and help you with kindness.

In May 2007, I was returning home from caring for an elderly relative. The time was about 11 pm on a quiet Friday night and I was travelling through a mostly rural area.

Deer have been seen many times in this area but mostly in the fall. I certainly did not expect to see one tonight.

I was driving along when all of a sudden, my left eye caught a deer running across the road right in front of my car.

I saw the animal's face and scared eyes and it just kept coming. It was there at the left front corner of my car. There was literally no time to stop or swerve.

The deer hit my front headlight and then slammed against the left side of my car.

I was very frightened, shocked, and devastated by this sudden turn of events.

I remember thinking there was no place to stop and that I needed to find the next parking lot to pull in and stop.

As I drove, I remembered seeing something hanging from car door that I, in my confusion, thought was part of the deer. In reality, it was my smashed left-view mirror. In my disorientation, I drove the car in a ditch and could not get out of it.

I did not have my cell phone with me and was still was very frightened by what happened. I tried to get out of the ditch with no luck. Then, I got out to inspect the damage.

My headlight was smashed and the left side of the car was badly dented and scratched. The kindness part came when several people stopped and inquired if they could help. I had forgotten my cell phone so one of the folks let me use their cell and I was able to call 911.

That person helped me on the call by letting me know the exact location while I was talking to the 911 operator.

Another gentleman stayed with me until the police arrived and was very helpful and comforting. It was a horrifying incident-my car was seriously damaged and the deer, I assume, had died. (I am an animal lover and felt really bad about this).

One of the few good things is that I was not injured at all and, of course, the help of people who did not have to stop and help but did.