9-year-old was saved by a stranger after car crash killed her sister—35 years later, a phone call brought her to tears
A stranger’s kindness is seldom forgotten, especially if it makes a life-altering difference in a person’s life. Even their smallest acts during times of trouble become the strength and hope one needs. Then 9-year-old Jennifer McLaughlin remembers one such woman, Rhonda Ray, who helped her hold on after a brutal crash killed her older sister, Tammy, ABC 7 Los Angeles reported. This happened decades ago and now, in her 40s, McLaughlin still recalls that unfateful event and also the life-saving gesture from the stranger. Years later, what she heard on a phone call brought her to tears.
For a 9-year-old to witness something so cruel was traumatic. McLaughlin didn’t remember much of what happened except that the night took the life of her 29-year-old sister. "I don't remember seeing a single car that night. It was raining and I don't even remember the ambulance pulling up, or any of it," she recounted. The only other detail she remembered was that of the woman. She had no idea who the woman was, where she’d come from or what she looked like; all she could tell was she was there for her when her world turned upside down. After the crash took place, Ray reportedly saw the accident and cars and pulled over.
When she arrived at the scene, she spotted another person who was a doctor, tending to McLaughlin’s sister. The next thing she saw was the little girl, baffled by the chaos. "I looked all over and she was standing alone. She was wet. She was in shock and she was shaking," she explained. There was no doubt of what she had to do. Ray remained with the girl, followed her to the hospital and refused to leave her side until her parents arrived. She didn’t know what the 9-year-old was going through except that it was unfathomable.
Her simple presence made all the difference. "I thought about Rhonda throughout my whole life. Every time I told people my story, Rhonda was always part of it," McLaughlin mentioned. Over the years, she kept thinking about that crash and also about Ray. Every time she visited the site, she not only thought about her sister but also the kind stranger who comforted her. At the time, McLaughlin didn’t know who Ray was, but she wanted to reach out to her. "I just wanted to say ‘Thank you' and give her a hug and say, 'You helped shape a little bit of who I am,'” she revealed. She went out on social media and shared whatever she remembered of the harrowing experience and about Ray, with a request to help track her.
The internet did its thing and Ray’s daughter came across the post, rushing to inform her mom. The duo decided to hop on a call and 35 years of feelings, pain and gratitude were flowing in the first minute. "(Jennifer) called me, and as soon as I heard her voice, we were both crying,” Ray remarked. As McLaughlin expressed her thanks, she continued to remember the woman’s gesture. "She didn't have to stop. She stopped her whole day to be with this little 9-year-old girl whom she didn't know,” she said. The woman’s newfound goal was to be like Ray. “That's what I've spent my life trying to be and that has been ingrained in me since I was a child, to be a good person, to be the helper," she added.
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