When her key broke in the ignition, a car thief saved the day

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.

In the summer of 1971, Betsy Cornwell was 18 years old and had a job working the late shift at a computer assembly plant in Marlborough, Mass. One night, she finished work and went out to her car as usual — only to find herself stranded when her key broke off in the ignition.

“If you’ve ever worked that 3 [p.m.] to midnight shift, you know how fast a parking lot can empty out,” Cornwell said. “So there I was the middle of the night, all by myself, half of the key was in my hand and the other half was in the ignition.”

As she sat there, wondering what to do next, she heard a tap on her window. Outside stood a man.

“He said, ‘I noticed you haven’t gone anywhere. Are you OK?’ And I showed him my broken car key and his eyes lit up and he said, ‘I can help with that. I’m a car thief.’”

At first, Cornwell wondered if she misheard him.

“I mean, it’s just like he was telling me his name or that he was a brush salesman or something. He said, ‘I’m a car thief. I can start your car for you, but I would have to follow you home because if you hit a bump, you might stall and I’d have to start the car again.’”

A feeling of apprehension washed over Cornwell. She told the man that she needed to call her father. Together, they walked to a nearby payphone. When Cornwell’s father answered, she explained the situation. To her surprise, her father said to go ahead and let the man start the car.

“I’m thinking, like, ‘Is he just too asleep to understand what I’m telling him?’ [So] I said, ‘Dad, this guy says he’s a car thief.’ And Dad says, ‘Yeah, sure, sure. I know when to expect you, and it’ll be fine.’”

After hanging up, Cornwell and the man returned to her car. He started it faster than she could have with her key. Then, he got in his car, and began following her home.

“[But] by this point, I am so flustered. I can’t remember which way to turn when I get off the highway. So I go one way and I start driving down the road and nothing looks familiar. So I made a U turn and went the other way and that way didn’t look any better,” Cornwell recalled.

Eventually, the man flashed his lights at her. When she pulled over, he came to her window and asked if she was lost.

“I told him where I lived and he said, ‘Yeah, you’re on the right track. You’re going the right way.’”

Finally, Cornwell started recognizing her surroundings. The man followed her all the way to her driveway, turned off the car for her, and bid her goodnight.

“I never saw him again,” Cornwell said.

Cornwell and the self-described car thief met more than 50 years ago. But she continues to think about him to this day.

“I have no idea how far you went out of your way to get me home safely,” she said. “So I would say it doesn’t matter what you call yourself. To me, you are a hero and I’ll never forget you.”

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 myunsunghero@hiddenbrain.org.