When her car ran out of gas, help came from a homeless encampment

This story is part of the My Unsung Hero series, from the Hidden Brain team. It features stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone else.

Juli Cobb, a creative arts teacher in Albuquerque, N.M., was driving home from work one day this year when she ran out of gas. Her car sputtered to a stop in the middle of the road near a crowded homeless encampment under the freeway.

“I was sitting there so vulnerable, and I was anxious,” Cobb said. “But this man ran up to me from under the bridge and asked me if I needed help.”

She explained what had happened. He told her he would try to help, but first he needed to get her car out of the road.

“He single-handedly tried to push me,” Cobb recalled. “And I couldn’t unlock the steering and it wasn’t moving. Then two other men ran over to help and again [asked], ‘Can we help you?’ and ‘What’s going on?'”

One man, careful not to alarm her, asked whether he could reach through the window to check the steering column. She agreed, and he managed to unlock it.

As this was happening, cars swerved by, trying not to hit them. At one point, the group directed a tractor trailer to maneuver around her car.

Eventually, the three men were able to move her car out of the road.

The first man — the one who had tried to push her car alone — offered to fetch gas with his fuel can. She gave him some money, and he set off on his bike.

Cobb was grateful but shaken, and she just wanted to get home. Then one of the men introduced himself as Dominic.

“He said, ‘This is a dangerous place. There are some people that would take advantage of this situation. Have you called anybody?'” Cobb remembered.

“I said, ‘I’m calling my daughter right now.’ And he said, ‘I will stay here with you.'”

And he did. Cobb never had to step out of her car. Soon the man on his bike returned with gas and poured it into her tank, and she got the car started. Not long after, Cobb was home. But the generosity of the three men has stayed with her.

“That these men — who didn’t ask for anything and really are on the street and trying to survive, don’t know where their next meal is coming from probably — just ran over to help. So, that was pretty impactful on me.”

My Unsung Hero is also a podcast — new episodes are released every Tuesday. To share the story of your unsung hero with the Hidden Brain team, record a voice memo on your phone and send it to [email protected].