Truck driver who stopped in the aide of strangers has been a challenge to contact
By Andrew Harris
The story isn’t much different than the Bible story of a man traveling on an isolated road. In the Gospel of Luke the story is age old, to summarize Luke 10:25-37:
A traveler encounters severe hardships on the road and is left injured, stranded, wounded, scared, and in need. Holy men come upon the desperate traveler and don’t bother to stop to help. A less than holy, less than wealthy Samaritan finds the traveler in a near death state. The Samaritan doesn’t just walk by, he stops and rescues the traveler.
This same scenario played out not long ago in rural Steuben County NY. A traveler swerved to miss a deer in the road and a serious car crash resulted. The traveler was in need of help.
An Allegany County gal, our friend Barbara Rechenberg, was the first good Samaritan on the scene. She stopped, got out of her car and did whatever possible to help the desperate traveler. Barbara realized she needed help and other travelers where passing by, too busy or afraid to stop and help.
Israel comes into this rescue after he stopped his big rig for Barbara’s waves for help. Now with two good Samaritans on the scene, the wounded traveler was freed from the wreckage and comforted until emergency services arrived on the scene. Israel also helped collect personal belongings from the scene and offered security in a very remote location. From Barbara’s account of the situation:
“Israel was very kind and helpful. I could not have been able to help the traveler get out of the car without him. He even picked up the scattered groceries and waited with us for almost thirty minutes until the EMT and police arrived.”
This story has been told before. Our initial reporting and search for Israel can be found below. While we have not been able to locate Israel, the clues are very strong.
We know a few things about Israel: He is in his thirties or forties, he is dark complected and bilingual(Spanish/English.) Israel is a trucker and obviously a man of good morals.
We also know that a man named Israel, driving a big rig, regularly drops off a the Angelica NY landfill.
This is where the clues go cold. After contacting several potential trucking companies who bring loads to this Allegany County, no one reports an Israel on staff.
So we are trying again to locate this good Samaritan and maybe you can help? Of course, this could be a complicated situation and Israel doesn’t want to be found. Maybe Israel’s employer doesn’t want any media attention. Whatever the reasons, we understand that confidentiality is important.
We will not disclosed anyone’s identity or personal information or employer information. The only goal is to allow the traveler and good Samaritan Barbara Rechenberg the opportunity to say thank you for the help.
You can send an anonymous message anytime to us via our contact form.
