Good Samaritan Helps Clear Abandoned Cars From Portland-Area Streets

By Amelia Templeton (OPB)
Dec. 15, 2016 10:45 p.m.

Related: Experts Offer Practical Tips For Driving In Winter Weather

The storm Wednesday night brought out the worst in Portland’s drivers, catching many in the city completely unprepared.

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Faced with 3 inches of snow at rush hour, the city turned into utter gridlock, the streets littered with dozens, if not hundreds, of wrecked and abandoned cars.

But for a few kind souls driving pick-up trucks and four-wheel drive vehicles, the storm was an opportunity to shine. A good Samaritan has roamed several Portland-area neighborhoods, offering free tows.

Jacey Bustad’s car got stuck in the snow about half way up Mt. Scott on the outskirts of Clackamas and Southeast Portland.

Christian Bartlett, a construction worker, estimates he's pulled 10 people out of the snow. "It makes everyone lives a lot easier to pull over and help them out, versus driving by."

Christian Bartlett, a construction worker, estimates he's pulled 10 people out of the snow. "It makes everyone lives a lot easier to pull over and help them out, versus driving by."

Amelia Templeton / OPB

"I was in Battleground last night for work and came home a little too late. The car in front of me stopped, which in turn made me stop, and then I couldn't move," she said.

Bustad returned Thursday to try to dig her car out. "Now I'm going to try to finish making it up the hill," she said.

With Bustad at the wheel, her mom pushed the car from behind, to no avail.  The front tires spun in the snow.

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Friends help push Jacey Bustad's car out of a snow bank after it got stuck halfway up Mt. Scott Wednesday night.

Friends help push Jacey Bustad's car out of a snow bank after it got stuck halfway up Mt. Scott Wednesday night.

Amelia Templeton / OPB

Then a pickup truck pulled up, and out popped a young man carrying a yellow tow rope.

“I thought I’d drive around, see if there was anybody who needed help,” said 23-year-old Christian Bartlett, a construction worker.

He said since the storm began, he’s rescued about a dozen people, many stuck in the same spot near the Clackamas Town Center mall.

“Everyone was spinning in the exact same spot, so I’d tow them up to Kaiser, make a loop back down, and then there would be another one,” he said.

Bartlett says he hasn’t received any compensation for towing people, though someone offered him free pest control services.

Christian Bartlettt, a construction worker, estimates he's pulled 10 people out of the snow. "It makes everyone lives a lot easier to pull over and help them out, versus driving by."

Christian Bartlettt, a construction worker, estimates he's pulled 10 people out of the snow. "It makes everyone lives a lot easier to pull over and help them out, versus driving by."

Amelia Templeton / OPB

ldquo;That’s not was I was looking for. I’m just trying to at least lighten people up a little bit, let them enjoy the snow,” he said. “It makes everyone’s lives a lot easier, to pull over and help them out, versus just driving by and not making it your problem.”

Bartlett hooked his tow line to Bustad’s car and in a few minutes she was free and headed up the hill.

“That was very nice,” she said. “I thought we were going to have to push and hope for the best.”

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