Man Who Saved Lives During Blizzard
Did you read about the kind man in New York who saved lives during a blizzard just days before Christmas? Oh, it’s a story that should be told and retold.
Jay Withey, a mechanic in the town of Cheektowaga, New York, was answering a friend’s call for help around 6 p.m. His friend said he was stranded in the snow.
He said he weaved through cars that were stranded trying to get to his friend.
Then he saw a young man (whose name was Mike) walking in sneakers and a light jacket. Jay stopped and told Mike to jump in the truck.
Jay’s truck got stuck twice. The first time he was able to dig it out. But the second time the snow was coming down as fast as he could attempt to dig the truck out.
So there he was stranded himself along with the stranger named Mike.
At that point, he was soaking wet and the truck didn’t have much gas left in it.
So he left Mike in the truck and began knocking on doors. In all he went to 10 houses begging to be let in.
Begging Other Strangers For Shelter:
Jay asked them to please allow them to sleep on the floor. He told them he was in fear for his life. He offered them all $500. But none of them would let him inside.
So he started walking back toward his truck, but the thick snow and blustery wind caused him to get lost.
He said his vision was beginning to get foggy and his body was cramping up. It was then that he saw a blinking light in the distance. He knew he’d parked close to a light like that.
When he got back to his truck he called the police, but was told that due to the treacherous weather they couldn’t get to him. But he did learn that the friend he’d gone out to help had been rescued.
Around 11 p.m. he was tired and tried to take a nap.
Around that time there was a knock at his car window. He opened the door to find Mary, an elderly woman who’d been stuck in her car since 4 p.m. He told Mary to get in the truck too.
The Truck’s Gas Was Quite Low:
By morning there was very little gas left in the car to keep them warm.
Mary said she needed to use the bathroom. So Jay looked at his phone’s GPS and found that a school was nearby.
He told the others that he was going to the school and breaking in. The school would at least have heat and a bathroom. He took an extra set of brake pads with him.
Once he got to the school, he smashed a window using the brake pads. The security alarm blared.
When he turned around he saw a lot of older people stranded in their cars. One had a dog. He got them all inside the school.
Then he looked for food in the school’s cafeteria. He managed to turn off the alarm. Then he found mats in the gym for everyone to sleep on.
On Christmas morning, Jay and the others were able to use snow blowers he found in the janitor’s closet to free their cars from the piles of snow.
One man who had turned Jay away when he knocked on his door saw him snow blowing the cars.
The man approached Jay in tears to apologize. He said he couldn’t sleep that night knowing he’d denied Jay shelter.
How Jay Withey Saw The Whole Ordeal:
Jay Withey said he is a religious man and that he saw the ordeal as a blessing in disguise. Because if any of those people in the ten houses he knocked on had let him in, he couldn’t have saved all those other stranded people.
Jay stayed at the school until 8 p.m. on Christmas day until everyone there was okay. Later they started a chat group to stay in touch.
Before Jay Withey left, he wrote a note apologizing to the school for breaking in. Police found it when they were finally able to respond to the alarm Jay had set off when he broke into the school.
Here Is What The Note Said:
“To whomever it may concern, I’m terribly sorry about breaking the school window and for breaking in the kitchen. Got stuck at 8 pm Friday and slept in my truck with two strangers, just trying not to die. There were 7 elderly people also stuck and out of fuel. I had to do it to save everyone and get them shelter and food and a bathroom.”
He signed the letter, “Merry Christmas Jay.”
Cheektowaga Police found Jay Withey with the public’s help after sharing his note and surveillance camera images.
The police announced that they’d been able to contact Jay Withey to express their gratitude for his heroic actions.
They also showed a photo Withey shared with them of the people he’d help save that night.
Jay said they are all now like family and planning a summer get together.
It was a Christmas miracle of a man who could not let others suffer.
Jay Withey risked his own life to save other people. If there are angels on earth, Jay Withey must surely be one of them.
I hadn’t heard this story, Brenda. Thank you for sharing it. I read it with tears in my eyes. And in the end to say it was a blessing in disguise to have been turned away from those ten homes. It makes me wonder what I would do if a stranger knocked on my door seeking shelter. I’m not proud of what I think the answer would have been.
What a wonderful story of perseverance and courage. Thank you Brenda for sharing this story. Happy New Year!! 😉
A modern day “and there was no room for them” Christmas Eve story. Thank you for including pictures with your post. I’d read the story, but so much nicer with photos! Heartwarming to see two dogs were welcomed in as well.
Kind of sad to see, but understand, the reluctance of people to allow strangers into their homes, even in the direst of circumstances. Hate, racism, and suspicion of our fellow man has been politically fueled over the past six years. No one will ever convince me otherwise.
Brenda, thank you for sharing this story. We saw him on the news last night. What a humble young man!
Lovely story…thanks for sharing it. He was a really creative thinker…need some of them to help us all out in this world!!
What a beautiful and inspiring story! I hadn’t heard about this. Thank you so much for telling us about this remarkable man! The world needs more people like him!
Just read yesterday’s blog. Love, love, love the new graphic with Ivy. I have to say that your book nook graphic put me in mind of an artist I met, say 40+ years ago, at the Del Mar Fair in San Diego. I purchased several of her original watercolors, which I still own. Her name is Carol Jean Green. I can find images of her work on the internet, but I don’t know what became of her.
Wow! What a heart-warming story. And I bet no one asked anybody what their political position was. Jay is a truly compassionate person and we certainly need more deeds of this kind in the midst of all the negativity and violence in our world. Then we might truly have Peace on Earth. “May the Lord bless you real good, Jay”, to quote my Southern grandfather-in-law, Charlie Shelton. Thank you for sharing this story, Brenda. I had not heard it.
I LOVE the note he left at the school!! He is truly an angel!!
Thanks for sharing this story, Brenda!
Wow just wow! This story brought me to tears! He saved 9 ppl and 2 dogs! He didn’t stop until everyone was safe and sound in their homes again! Now they have a bond and will be friends for life!
This is a great story! What a kind, quick thinking, and capable fellow. The right man at the right time! Terrifying storm. So happy that all ended so well for these people.
Beautiful story!!! It almost like the Christmas story. Turned away, but was able to help so many others. Blessings! He saved so many people who may have died otherwise.
This is one story I had not read yet as I have read and seen several on tv of hero’s there all helping out. Survival was essential when they knew their life was in peril. It’s so sad that many people have died as last count it was 39 and National Guard is still going door to door to check on people. Such good people who care about others is my goal going into the new year to surround myself with.
I’d read several articles on the storm one of which was a couple that kept a lady— unrelated to them— that had passed away, but kept her in their home until
the mortuary and family could come to get her. This is an amazing story. I’m glad he had the strength to forge thru the weather to help get these other people to the school.
Wow, now that’s the true meaning of Christmas!
It surely is!
This story filled up my eyes and my heart. I had heard bits and pieces but not the whole story. Thank you for taking the time to share it. You can’t believe anything like this could happen but it does. People get lost in the forest, cars fall off of cliffs and people get stuck on the roads for days. I tell my grandsons that Mr. Rogers said to look for the helpers. Our 8 year old got lost in Disney World and thankfully a woman asked him if he was lost then quickly notified a cast member. We already had family looking and 3 security guards notified. He just kept walking when we must have paused and it was a quick reunion. Like I have been doing that morning in the car I asked him (again) if he knew his Mom’s phone number, and made him recite it. Yesterday an elderly man passed in a house fire. His granddaughter reminded everyone to go over their fire escape plan. Thank God for people who have compassion and jump into action.
I saw a snippet about this on my cell phone while I was eating cereal this morning. So I dug in and found out all the details while I drank my one cup of decaf. It just warmed my heart, and I wanted to share this amazing story with all of you.
What a wonderful story. We need to read more of these in our news and see them on the TV. Jay is a hero. There are wonderful people everywhere in our country, and they do wonderful things for others. Too often though, we just don’t hear about them – they are the unsung heroes.
I know. The fact that no one allowed him inside, and he said it was a blessing in disguise nearly brought me to tears. What a wonderful man!
Thank you so much for sharing this incredible story about Jay. Definitely an angel on Earth!
When I learned about it this morning, I thought: I’ve just got to share this with my dear readers in case they haven’t heard about it. Now that young man is someone who would make a great husband for a lucky girl! A man who is selfless, kind, and altruistic.
Thank you for sharing. Good news, plus heart warming! Much needed these days.
I’m sure there are many such stories from the horrible storms in NY. Faith in fellow man.
Yes, we need more stories like this. What a compassionate person he is.
Jay’s act of selflessness saving these strangers is a miracle! He and his group surely had a guardian angel that night!
He would not leave anyone behind. He waited until everyone had found a way home before he left on Christmas day. What a gift for those people!
Wonderful story. Thank you for posting this.
Makes you want to cry, doesn’t it?
What a beautiful story and it is amazing what one person can do to help others to survive. Thank you for sharing this heart warming story.
You’re right, Kris. It just takes one charitable person to save so many.
Such a wonderful thing to know there are still people like Jay in this world.
Her name. …….of all things. Mary.
I hadn’t thought of that until I saw your comment!
I thought the same thing!