Injured Mom Tries To Track Down Stranger Who Helped Her Family After Accident

Mom wants to thank the woman who came to her family’s rescue

Getting into a car accident with your child is high in the top ten of every parent’s worse nightmares. One mom was recently in this horrible situation, but the horror of her accident was made better with the help of a kind stranger.

Now she’s trying to harness the power of social media to make sure this unsung hero gets the thank you she deserves.

Sarah Wood and her family were recently in a scary car accident in Nisqually, Washington. Her son Noah was in the backseat at the time. Woods lost consciousness during the crash. When she came to, she could hear her son crying out in pain, but was unable to check on him due to her own injuries. “When I woke up after the collision, all I could hear was ringing and Noah screaming,” she writes. “I turned around and saw him curled in a ball, clutching his stomach and screaming. I was in so much pain that I had to turn back around and remain still.”

A woman named Ali appeared and helped Wood, her boyfriend, and young Noah remain calm until help arrived. “Ali was first on scene,” Wood tells Scary Mommy. “She showed up right after I woke up. She calmed my son and checked to make sure he wasn’t injured because I couldn’t move. She stayed next to me and talked to me because I was in shock. She brought us water. She called 911 and didn’t leave us until the paramedics arrived.”

Wood shared her story on Facebook in hopes of finding Ali to express her gratitude. “I don’t think you will ever see this but, if you do, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for helping my son,” she writes. The post has been shared over 6,000 times and has over 800 comments, but Woods says so far Ali hasn’t come forward.

Years ago, when I was a grad student, I had my own “Ali” come to the rescue. I was on my way to my first day at a new job when the I was rear-ended by a car going full speed on a highway. Like Wood, I passed out. When I came to, my car was turned 90 degrees and partial wrapped around a telephone pole. My new first-day-of work outfit was covered in coffee. I was totally alone and in a lot of pain.

A woman with kind eyes pulled my door open and started to talk to me, telling me I was going to be alright. She had seen my accident happen from a nearby gas station and rushed over to help. She called 911, wrapped me in a blanket I had in the back seat, offered me a bottle of water from her own car and stayed with me until the ambulance arrived. Like Wood I never got a chance to properly thank her. But I think of her each and every time I get into my car, and I’ll always remember the kindness she showed me that day.

In today’s world it’s easy to feel like it’s every man and woman for themselves. But there are still wonderful, brave people out there who are willing to help a stranger without expecting anything in return. Even if the person you helped didn’t get the chance to thank you at the time, the gratitude still remains.

Fortunately Wood’s family made it out of the accident mostly okay. While Wood suffered a severe cervical sprain and her boyfriend has a sore neck, Noah is completely unharmed. She’s hoping her post reaches Ali to thank her, not only for what she did for Wood, but also for her son. “I would want to tell her that I am forever grateful,” she says. “I felt like I was failing my son because I couldn’t help him and she stepped in and made sure he was safe. I can never repay her for her kindness. She is a beautiful person.”