On January 24th, 76-year-old Mariann Rott was taking out the trash when she lost her balance and fell into a creek in her yard. The Union Center, Wisconsin, woman crawled out of the freezing water and was laying in the snow for 45 minutes until UPS driver Patrick Shore came to her home to drop off a package.
When Mariann heard the UPS truck, she called out for help and Shore rushed to help. ”I could see the look in her eyes, she was in a desperate mode,” Shore recalls. “She needed some help and fortunately I was there to give that. Right time, right place.” The UPS driver carried Mariann to her garage and alerted her husband, who was inside the house and couldn’t hear his wife calling.
Shore wrapped Mariann in blankets to warm her up and waited with her until first responders arrived a short while later. Now Mariann is crediting Shore with saving her life. ”I was so thankful he came when he did,” Mariann says. “I would’ve been dead. I would’ve died right then and there.” But Shore says that UPS drivers do more for the community than just deliver packages and he plans to keep up with Mariann, saying, “She’s not just a customer, now she’s a friend.”
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