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 is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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