A helping hand for a stuck driver in Buffalo
Ploe Kaw, who lives on the West Side, was trying to get home when he swerved to get out of the way of a car on snow-covered William Street, at Bailey Avenue.
When the light turned red, he tried to go forward but he was stuck. He tried to move the snow from his tires with a windshield scraper, but that didn’t work. Neither did a shovel.
Then a pickup loaded with a snowblower pulled up.
“Do you need help?” one of the men inside yelled.
Four men jumped out and they spent the next several minutes attaching a rope to the front of Kaw’s car and then yanking him free.
Hakim Grant said he’s originally from Buffalo but moved to Cincinnati. He and his friends have been driving around helping people. Sometimes they are paid. Sometimes, they do it for free.
Maki Becker
Chief of the Breaking News/Criminal Justice Desk
I've worked at The Buffalo News since 2005. I previously worked as a reporter at the New York Daily News and the Charlotte Observer and was a special correspondent for the Los Angeles Times.
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“It's kind of a cool experience to see some of the smiles and looks on the guys' faces who have never been around snow, whether it be from the West Coast or down south,” McDermott said. “And then, there is the caution side, with trying to navigate life and snow and conditions like this."
Downed power lines. Snowplows stuck. And strangers helping one another. Here's how some Western New Yorkers weathered the storm.
The National Weather Service issued an urgent winter weather message for Niagara County at 10:15 a.m. today, advising that a lake-effect snow warning remains in effect until Sunday morning.
