At high speed, my car's hood came open. An angel appeared to take me to safety.

I was driving back home after work and on my way to meet with my audiologist. It was early September around 4:30 p.m. and I was driving on Route 19 north toward Bethel Park. It was windy. Suddenly I heard a big thumping sound: The hood on my car opened up and was all the way over my windshield.

I was driving at a good speed in the fast lane. I moved to the slow lane and off the road. I stopped the car and put my emergency lights on.

I thought the radiator must have blown out. What else would cause the hood to open up?

There was peak traffic on the road. Before I could decide what to do further, I saw a man standing by my side looking at the hood and engine. His car was parked just behind me. He had come forward to help me out without my asking him.

He started the engine. The car was running nice with no smoke from anywhere.

He helped me to conclude that the mechanical latch must have gone bad, causing the hood to open.

He tried to close the hood but could not. None of us had a hammer or any such tool to straighten the bends on the hood to make it close. Even though the car was in working order, I could not drive on the road because the hood was covering the whole windshield.

A gas station was approximately 600 feet from us. He said he would follow me very closely, if I could drive along the side and get to the gas station.

We safely made it. Before I could turn and say thanks to him, he continued on his way.

I never got his name. He came to help me like an angel.

I always think very highly of people like him. I strongly believe this part of the world is prosperous due to people like him.

RAMAN SUBRAMANIAN
Bethel Park

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It was an invitation to an easy joy ride, but they put my keys in their place.

After shopping at Kohl's on McKnight Road in August, I came out to my car to put my packages in the trunk -- and realized that I could not find my keys. I checked and rechecked my purse and pockets and couldn't find them.

I walked up to the driver's side to see if I had left them in the ignition, and was surprised to see that they were hanging on my partially open window.

I had apparently left them in the trunk keyhole. A kind soul took them out and hung on my window -- where I would be sure to see them right away.

A huge Thank You to the good Samaritan who left the keys for me to find, rather than using them to steal my car.

My faith in humanity has been restored!

BETTY GERGINSKE
Shaler

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Overcome by heat and fatigue, we fell not to the ground but into the arms of young, caring people.

My husband and I were returning from an overly ambitious walk in our Squirrel Hill neighborhood during one of those hot afternoons in early October. He is recovering from a partial hip replacement and his strength is not yet back to normal. Suddenly, along Forbes Avenue near Denniston, he was overtaken with vertigo and began to collapse.

Three college-aged pedestrians quickly came to his rescue. After they saved him from falling, one of them dashed to our nearby apartment building to seek assistance from the staff. While all this was going on, I too began to feel faint, and they helped me before I could fall.

We want to thank these nameless young people who gave the time and physical effort to help us.

JOANNE COOPER
Squirrel Hill

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