Woman seeks help from the internet to find 'hero' who saved her and her husband after a car crash

In a world full of uncertainties and danger, it is reassuring to see that kindness still exists in the hearts of people. The internet is now enamored by one such tale of a stranger who swooped in to help two people in danger and demanded no credit for it. Rose Andresen was in the car with her husband, Adam Terrell, on December 27, 2020, when he suddenly lost consciousness at the wheel. The couple crashed off the side of Interstate 10 near Jacksonville, Florida, according to The Washington Post.

They were traveling back from North Carolina to their home in Fort Walton Beach when the accident took place. Andresen recalled that they were listening to an audiobook when her husband said that he doesn't feel good. "The next second, he was slumped over the steering column, completely unconscious," she said. The car was on cruise control and traveling at 70 miles per hour. Andresen was able to reach beneath her husband and turn on the hazard lights before grabbing the steering wheel from the passenger seat and swerving the vehicle across three lanes of traffic.

She knew a crash was inevitable. To avoid hitting other cars, Andresen aimed for a group of trees off the highway. She explained, "We went through those trees and down an embankment." She could not find their cellphones to contact emergency services once the car came to a halt and was all alone "in the darkness." Since the passenger door wouldn't open, she climbed out the window and went in search of help. She noticed a large SUV that was traveling in the other direction, take the next exit and re-enter the interstate to drive up beside her. 

The driver informed her that he had already called 911 before assisting her in finding her way back to her husband. The man stayed by their side till the ambulance arrived. He made "calculated decisions" and was "the only driver who stopped that night," said Andresen. "No one else even slowed down." The pair were rushed to the hospital, where they both received treatment for fractured backs. Terrell was also diagnosed with a cardiac problem, which explained his unexpected collapse, and was fitted with a pacemaker.

Andresen revealed that they hadn't known about the condition before the accident and suspects that it might have been triggered by the emotional distress of his father being critically ill. Her own father was very sick at the time, and they had planned to go to Arizona to say farewell to him. However, despite having their own grief and misery to deal with, the couple wanted to thank the stranger who saved their lives. Unfortunately, they weren't able to track him down as his name was not listed on the police report.

However, this year, Andresen has decided to give it another try by sharing her story on Twitter. She wrote in the thread: "I remember almost nothing about him. He was driving a bigger SUV. Maybe it was brown, or blue? There was a child's artwork on the floorboard of the passenger seat. He was kind. He kept me calm. He stayed till help arrived."

"I want him to know that not a day goes by that I don't think of his kindness," she added.

Her tweet quickly went viral, gathering over 55k likes since being posted over the weekend. While netizens have launched efforts to find Andresen's hero, some shared similar stories of encountering kind strangers. "I don't know anything about 12/27/2020, but I once stopped for a guy who crashed head on into an 18 wheeler, and 20 years later a car stopped to call for help when my dad crashed his motorcycle on a lonely road in the Rockies," @arsey wrote. "It's always good to know people care for strangers."

Although Andresen's search for the heroic stranger yielded two leads, neither was the right guy. She still has hope that she will eventually find him but is aware of the possibility that he may not want to be found. "If he never comes forward, but sees this, I want him to know that I watch the road differently now," she said. "I know what I'll do if I see something. Because of what he did, I look for opportunities in the world to pay it forward." 

Andresen might not have found the stranger who saved her life but her story is proof that an act of kindness can allow people to lead their lives with hope.