Dear Editor;
On the night of Friday February 4th, I was transporting horses from the Kootenays to a location down the Princeton / Summerland road. My timing couldn’t have been worse as that was the day of an ice storm. The roads were absolutely indescribable, dangerous and should not have been traveled on. As I started up the Princeton / Summerland road, my truck and trailer started sliding going up a hill and despite my efforts, I could not get the truck to continue going up the hill. The more I tried, the worse it got. The truck and trailer ended up completely blocking the hill and with a corner just above me, I feared a vehicle would not be able to stop in time and hit my truck. I have never been so scared, especially for the safety of the horses on board. A truck came slowly around the corner and a man stopped to talk to me. His name was Bob Summers. Before I knew it, he was attempting to maneuver my rig off the road and get these horses safely out of harms way. Due to the extreme ice, moving the truck was dangerous, scary and had to be done carefully. After some time, Bob was able to bring the rig to the side of the road and get one side of the vehicle on better ground. His kids were patiently waiting in his truck and I know they had a night out planned. Bob kindly offered to also get the truck and trailer backed down the hill to a side road so I could at least get turned around on level ground. Not only did he do this for me, but also helped me maneuver at the fairgrounds where I could safely keep the horses. If this wasn’t already enough help, he even offered to help with the horses. Overall, this extremely kind man, spend a few hours out of his night helping out a stranger in trouble and in my opinion, helped prevent what could have been a disastrous situation. It is simply amazing how 1 person can renew the faith in mankind and what this world has become. Thank you Bob Summers - I will never forget your kindness and hope I can pay it forward one day!
Tanya Balmes
Eastwind Stables
Kamloops, BC