Tammy Frye, a retail associate in Spurlockville, WV — an area with spotty cellphone service — was on duty on a cold December day when a customer rushed into the office, saying an SUV had plunged into a nearby ravine.
After 911 was called on the office phone, Frye locked the door and hurried to the accident scene, where she found that an 85-year-old woman was trapped in the vehicle, which was lying sideways in a creek.
The Postal Service employee opened the hatch for the woman, who insisted on crawling out, and guided her up an embankment as emergency responders arrived to provide further assistance.
The woman, who had been blinded by midday sunlight while returning from a visit to her husband’s grave, needed help contacting her son, so Frye took his number and returned to the office to call him.
Family members followed up with Frye later that afternoon to thank her for coming to the woman’s aid.
“I worked for the rest of the day with wet clothes but a grateful heart that she was not seriously injured,” Frye said.