By David Lanpher
I was traveling on US-60 North from Claypool, Arizona, after picking up my load on Friday. It was a gorgeous road to travel, and one that I hadn’t been on before, but also curvy, 2-lane, and with no real shoulder. Also, pulling a 44,260 lb. load.
I noticed my air leaking and a message that the brakes may be dragging. As I was slowly trying to work my way to the best spot I could pull over, I noticed the brakes getting hot. I got parked as best as I could but was still very much on the road. Right away, I got my safety triangles out. This was a very dangerous place for service, as well as an “accident waiting to happen,” as we know people these days don’t slow down for anything. And, I had no cell or tablet service.
It wasn’t 15 minutes later that GOD put a young man with mechanic (and driving) experience in my path. He had been running a pilot escort truck to Phoenix and was on his way back to Preston, Idaho. He had broken his arm and was not back to driving a semi yet. He parked and asked me what the problem was and if there was anything he could do.
I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but never a mechanic. After assessing the situation, he asked if I had a couple of vice grips, and I did. The ironic part of this is that I had just bought the vice grips – a set of 4 – after experiencing a trailer flat in March. The service guy could have used some then, and I hadn’t had any, so I ordered some from Amazon while he was fixing my tire.
Using those vice grips, this young man was able to reroute my airline so that I would have full air, and I was able to follow him to the I-40 ramp where he was continuing north. Mind you, he had another 12 hours of driving to accomplish to get back to Preston, Idaho. He wouldn’t have had to stop or help.
This young man was my great Samaritan. If he hadn’t come by or stopped, I would have had to wait for a service truck (who knows how long that would have taken – the nearest service was the T/A in Holbrook, Arizona where I had come from – 65 miles away). At that point, it would have been dark and even more dangerous for service, with a very high chance of our equipment or me getting hit.
He saved Nussbaum a bunch of money, and at that moment, he was a lifesaver for my anxiety and stress. I was able to get into the shop first thing the next morning and get everything repaired. I am thankful that God put him (and my newly purchased vice grips) in the right place, right time, to save a lot of grief. Thank you for your service, Wendell from Idaho!
