Washington RCA Beth Hodges

WASHINGTON – It was raining hard on December 26 when Washington Rural Carrier Associate and local resident Beth Hodges pulled into a driveway to turn her vehicle around, and saw a person lying on the ground in front of the home. Startled, she ran to Mr. Owens, a retired state trooper in his 70s, who had slipped on his front steps and sustained several cuts, including a gash on his left arm that was causing “blood to flow everywhere,” according to Hodges.

She got him to a sitting position, and his wife Mrs. Owens came out to tell her he was on blood thinner, which could be the reason why there was so much blood; she also told Hodges she had a bad back and couldn’t lift him. He discouraged them from calling 911 for help, so they called his daughter, who came immediately and helped Hodges get him into the house and onto a chair. He had a cut on his cheek and numerous superficial cuts on his arm, which the wife and daughter began tending to right away.

“Seeing Mr. Owens there bothered me because he looked so humble lying there needing help,” said Hodges. “I couldn’t imagine him, of all people, needing help because he is such a big, broad man in stature and is a retired trooper. He is the one who always helps everybody else, he is never seen as the weaker person.” Mrs. Owens and her daughter thanked Hodges profusely for stopping to help him, and promised to take him to the hospital after cleaning up his wounds.

Mr. Owens ended up going to the hospital three days later and was diagnosed with a broken bone in his rib and a torn rotator cuff. He offered a relatively simple solution to eliminating such falls in the future: “Just take these slippers off, those are the problem.” Thanks to Hodges, an even worse fate was very likely averted.

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