Santa Barbara Police Officers to the Rescue
I’m Ed Smith, a Santa Barbara personal injury lawyer. Two police officers with the California Highway Patrol in Santa Barbara went above and beyond their duty recently to help out a 79-year-old man who was stranded at the side of the road. My congratulations and thanks go out to Officers Nees, Barriga, Chapman and Youngblood for their great spirit of caring and for providing such a good example of how police officers go out of their way every day to help others.
What Happened?
The elderly man, Ralph Lester, was sitting inside his vehicle on the shoulder of Highway 101 near Gaviota in mid April at about 5:30 in the morning because he had run out of gasoline. Two officers were dispatched to the location, Youngblood and Chapman. Upon arrival, they notified AAA of the problem, and the auto club sent someone out to put in about two gallons. The older man informed the officers that he was driving back home to North Hollywood and had been in San Diego. Because he was a long distance north of North Hollywood, the officers sensed something was wrong.
The Police Officers Take Control of the Situation
One of the officers drove the man’s vehicle to the CHP station in Santa Barbara, bringing him along, and enroute, filled the gas tank, paying for the fuel herself. While conversing with the man, he told them his wife was hospitalized somewhere around North Hollywood, but he could not remember which hospital. In addition, he could not recall any phone numbers for his family or friends and did not have a cell phone along.
A Positive Outcome Ends With a Reunion
To ensure that the older man made it home without any problem, Sergeant Stevens, the supervisor who was on duty at the station, had an officer taken Mr. Laster to his house in his own vehicle, and another vehicle went along to bring the officer back. En route to his home, Officers Nees and Barriga stopped to buy Mr. Laster breakfast. Once they arrived at his home, phone calls were made to locate the elderly man’s wife. After locating Mr. Laster’s wife at Sherman Oaks, where she had been moved, they called to see about finding family or friends of the man. Finally connecting with a friend of his, it was decided that he should be taken to Sherman Oaks to reunite with his wife.
Attorney Ed Smith
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Santa Barbara Personal Injury Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Santa Barbara personal injury lawyer. When you need legal help, I am ready to offer friendly and free advice with the compassion it deserves. Call me 24/7 in Santa Barbara County at (805) 372-0200 for free, friendly advise. Elsewhere in California, you can reach me at my toll-free number (800) 404-5400.
If you want to know more about my practice, you can read my reviews on Google or Yelp. At Avvo, you will be able to read reviews by my legal peers and clients.
My Verdicts and Settlements section gives you information about past cases and the way they were resolved.
For over 34 years, I have dealt exclusively with California personal injury cases, including car accidents, wrongful death cases, dog bites and slip and fall accidents.
I belong to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. This group of attorneys have won settlements or verdicts of a million dollars or more for their clients.
Photo Source: https://pixabay.com/en/blue-light-siren-police-officer-1675686/
Source: http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?nid=184443
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