I happened to be looking out of the window of the restaurant at just the right moment. A gold pickup truck was driving down West Corsicana street when the tire failed and came off the rim. The truck kept going for a few more feet until the tire completely separated and was trapped under the back wheel. The truck moved a a second more just on the rim. Then it came to a stop.
People were looking out of the windows. We were checking out and I went outside to see what needed to be done. The driver of the car looked at the empty rim. He looked in the bed of the truck and then took off down the road. I walked closer. I saw the head of a child in the front seat and then another man. I dialed 911. I told them about the stranded car, that it was in the middle of the road (luckily its a turn lane) and that it looked dangerous.
I walked to the curb and yelled to the people in the truck. I told them I had been rear ended before. I was worried about them. The light seem to dawn on him and they decided to come join me on the curb. As they got out I saw an even younger child in the back seat. It took nearly a minute to get a clearing safe enough to walk out to them and then walk the kids back. Cindy went to get some cookies from her van and we sat with the kids and watched the drama play out.
Another truck drove up behind them and got out to see if they could help. We found out the driver had walked down the road looking for help because he did not have a jack in the truck. The new arrival had a jack and started to work lifting the hulk. It was not going well. The jack was small, the lift was tall. The police arrived placing the squad car as a shield the man under the truck. A spare tired got rolled to the front. The lug nuts loosened, but the rim was still sitting on the pavement. Then it lifted a few inches into the air, but not enough.
A man on a bicycle was rolling down the sidewalk. I was moving to get out the way as he neared. He had a skateboard in his lap, which I thought was a funny juxtaposition. He stopped short of us and got off the bicycle. He had a huge car jack in his lap. He had to wait nearly a minute to walk out to the truck. He put it under the frame but he didn’t have the pump handle. The driver was running up the street with it and arrived winded. In a jiffy the truck was in the air, the spare tire was on. The policeman left and the truck pulled into the restaurant and loaded up the kids.
I followed them to the tire shop where the jack had come. I drove off. Then I called the tire shop to see if they were going to get a tire (I was planning to pay for it, I thought it would be fun to do it anonymously in the spirit of Christmas), but they just dropped off the jack and left. I was not sure that any of it made much of a difference. The driver got the help he needed. The kids didn’t like cookies. No one came vaguely close to hitting them. They were on their way in a few minutes. The kids seemed confused that we made them get out of the truck. My secret Santa plan was dashed.
I think I would do it again. I think helping does not always go the way we anticipate. It is not always a hero story. Sometimes it’s a quiet obedience story.