What this mechanic did for a stranger from Montana deserves a Feel Good Friday surprise

EastIdahoNews.com and Ashley HomeStore are teaming up every week to bring you some good news during Feel Good Friday!

We want to thank people in our community with random acts of kindness and leave you feeling good.

A few days ago we received a letter about a woman named Shelly, who was traveling through Rexburg from California on her way home to Montana. After meeting up with some friends, Shelly was on Main Street in Rexburg when she got into a car crash.

Part of the letter, from one of her friends, reads:

The car in front of her stopped suddenly and Shelly was unable to stop in time and hit them. Thankfully there were no injuries, but the front of her car was smashed in, the headlights were broken and the radiator fluid was running into the street.

Here is this woman, six hours from home and feeling very vulnerable and alone. I have been friends with Rick Hill for a number of years…I spoke with Shelly and the officers.

I called Rick who said for the tow truck to bring the damaged car out to him and he’d assess the damage. I would have had him tow the car but the other tow driver was there and hooked on. The driver said the car was destined for the scrap heap! I insisted he take it to Rick. What I didn’t realize was that her insurance would not cover a tow!

I drove Shelly to Rick’s where I watched him pay for the $200.00 tow! Then I watched as Rick went into overdrive and quickly, yet thoroughly, checked everything and determined that it might not look perfect when he was done, but he would get her home!

He called and ordered $600.00 in parts to be delivered by 5 p.m.! I called and booked a room at a nearby hotel, using my card. Rick insisted coming with me to get Shelly some food and settled, where he paid for the room, another $70.00! I thanked Rick profusely, offering to find a way to somehow pay him back. His answer was “things have a way of working out…don’t worry about it.”

I was in tears and Shelly was shocked and crying. I went home and finished my evening while Rick stayed late into the night at his shop. He texted me at 12:40 a.m. to say it was finished and where to find the keys. He’d replaced the radiator, headlights, and the condensation tubes so she even had A.C. which was important as she is heat intolerant!

I picked Shelly up the next morning and we headed to get her van. She stood with her hands over her mouth shaking as she saw the van, completely put back together! It didn’t look like it had been in a wreck at all! She wept and hugged Rick and thanked him profusely. She is grateful beyond words, as her rather dire situation simply would not have afforded her to replace her only car at this time! He even tucked in a gallon of coolant in case. She texted me about 6 hours later to say she’d arrived safely home in Montana. She was grateful to say the van worked perfectly and ran smoothly the entire time.

Rick Hill owns Over the Hill Auto Repair in Rexburg and we decided to thank him for Feel Good Friday. We surprised him at his shop – check it out in the video player above!