Austin man rescues dozens of drivers left stranded by winter storm


Using his chains, ropes, and four-wheel drive, over the course of two days Ryan Sivley helped rescue about 150 people stranded by the side of the road in Austin, Texas.
A brutal winter storm is battering Texas, and Sivley told KVUE after thinking about what it would be like to be stuck in the freezing temperatures, he knew he had to do something. "I've been helping anybody I find on the side of the road," Sivley said. "I do a lot of off-roading with different groups in Austin, so I had recovery straps and chains and I have two trucks that are four-wheel drive."
In addition to pulling cars to freedom, Sivley has also helped get stranded nurses to work and driven patients home from the hospital. Last March, Sivley was in a bad car accident, which nearly took his life. He shattered his pelvic bone, and today he can only walk for about two hours a day, but driving is no problem. His rescue service is free, but many of the grateful people he helps have been giving Sivley a few dollars for gas. "Everybody is really happy," he said. Catherine Garcia
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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