STEWARTSTOWN, Pa. (WHTM) – A central Pennsylvania woman was gifted with an act of kindness after she became lost and crashed her car more than 200 miles from home.
Janet Fennegan left her Stewartstown home last week to pick up her sister-in-law and go shopping, but the 82-year-old somehow ended up in western Pennsylvania, just a few miles from Pittsburgh.
“Instead of bothering anybody, she thinks that she can find her way home and she ends up in Elizabeth,” Elizabeth borough police Chief Bill Sombo said.
Fennegan had a minor accident during her visit. Her damaged car could not be driven.
Police found her cold and hungry. They took her to get something to eat, contacted her family, then drove her halfway home to meet up with relatives on the turnpike.
But their generosity didn’t stop there. Sombo found a car dealership that repaired and detailed Fennegan’s car at no charge. The job included four new tires, front end alignment, oil change, and other needed repairs.
And on Christmas Eve, Sombo delivered yet another gift: he and his officers drove Fennegan’s car back to her home.
“I can’t think of enough words, but this is wonderful,” she said. “They brought my car back and it is all clean and fixed and no costs. I guess it is the Christmas season.”
“This is something that we just needed to do,” Sombo said.
Fennegan said having her car back will allow her to enjoy the rest of the holiday season. She said the act of kindness from complete strangers is something she will never forget.
“I am just blown away by all the attention and kindness that people are showing me,” she said.
“We now have accepted her as the new mom for the Elizabeth Borough Police Department and words can’t describe how I feel,” Sombo said. “I am dealing with my mom at home and believe me, I would want someone to step up for my mom, too.”
