Shravya Reddy had her faith in humanity restored when four guys helped pull her stuck car out of sand dunes and back to the safety of a solid road.
West Coast, South Africa (21 May 2021) – Shravya Reddy was following her Google Maps along a dirt road which led to some soft sand that ended in sand dunes. Realising she was being led astray, Shravya decided to turn around only to get utterly sucked in by the sand and stranded alone with her two dogs on a sweltering day.
Shravya reached out to the Good Things Guy team to tell us her harrowing experience and meeting four Good Samaritans that helped get her back to the safety of a tar road. She explained that the situation had restored her faith in human nature. She hopes that by recognising her Good Samaritans’ kindness, they inspire more acts of kindness around SA.
This is Shravya’s story.
“I’m writing this to share a small story that restores faith in human nature, and to recognize an act of kindness by four strangers. The sense of community amongst readers of “Good Things Guy” makes this a powerful platform, and I would love for us (if possible) to channel that power to show appreciation to the four good samaritans whose deeds reaffirm and exemplify the spirit of our lovely country.
A few days ago, I found myself in a challenging situation that could have quickly turned dangerous. Driving alone in my car with my two dogs, I got misdirected by the GPS (thanks for nothing, Google Maps!) onto a dirt road that then turned into a sandy road… which then turned into sand dunes in an isolated, unpopulated spot. Before I could reroute myself my tiny little automatic hatchback got stuck in the sand dunes. As we know, once stuck in the sand, the more one tries to gun the engine and reverse or floor the gas pedal, the worse one digs oneself in – which is exactly what happened. I tried putting the car in neutral and moving it, but because of the way it was wedged in the sand, and because I just didn’t have the muscle-power, I couldn’t budge it. I called several times out aloud, “Heyyyyy,” to see if anyone was nearby, possibly just hidden from sight by the dunes. But my voice didn’t carry very far in that expanse.
After struggling with the car and sand for 20 minutes, I called AA, and they said they’d send someone out (to their credit, they did dispatch someone from the nearest town….which was a long drive away). The clock ticked by, and 45 minutes later, I was still waiting by my car, in the dunes, not a soul in sight, in the hot sun, worried about my two dogs heating up. We didn’t have any water, and the dogs were panting, and while I did run the A/C to keep the car cool, I was anxious that at some point the engine would overheat.”
It was at this point that Shravya started to panic a little. Thankfully she noticed movement on the horizon, and her four Good Samaritans pulled up to help her.
“As I stood there, worried that no one from the towing service had called to track me down, and stressed about my dogs’ wellbeing, I suddenly saw two large SUVs driving down the dirt road and dunes towards me. The cars stopped, and four cheerful male faces popped out, with the driver asking me if I was alright.
Here’s the thing. In the country where I grew up (India), a woman standing alone in an isolated spot – with no one within earshot and no vantage point from where anyone else could see her – would be extremely vulnerable. The rates of sexual violence against women in that country are staggering, and the probability would be high that if four men came across a stranded woman, the woman would be prey, and unthinkable things would be done to her. If I were in India and this happened, I would not have dared to step outside my vehicle, and would have stayed locked inside at all costs, waiting for only a trusted friend or family member to arrive.
However… I was here. In South Africa. In a country that has been remarkably good to me, and where people have overwhelmingly been kind (a country that I intentionally chose to make my home several years ago). Something in my gut said I could trust these guys…. And I was right. As soon as they heard my explanation of what happened, they offered to tow me out of the dunes and back onto the dirt road. With smiles on their faces, reassuring tones, friendly chatter, and with no concern about whether they’d be late to their destination, they pulled my car out. Not just once – they did this FOUR TIMES. Because the sand was so deep in multiple places that even as I manoeuvred my car back towards the dirt road, the car got stuck over and over again in different spots. Each time, they amiably towed me further out or got behind my hatchback to give it a human-powered boost. At no point did even the slightest hint of impatience or annoyance cross their faces. As I sheepishly kept apologizing, they were unfailingly upbeat and reiterated that it wasn’t an issue at all. The fourth time they physically pushed my car out – uphill – I finally managed to gun it onto the road and was on my way to safety with my two doggos (but not before I managed to get the names of the four).
The four who selflessly helped me are Christoph Backe, Fabian Teichgreeber, Sebastian Ehre, and Imraan Mhatey. They’re four buddies who live and work in Cape Town. Luckily for me, they’re also the kind of blokes who drive off-road, enjoying the gorgeous natural landscapes of South Africa (such as the dunes I was stuck in)! I could tell they were super “outdoorsy”; while they were helping me, I had the chance to glimpse the gear that was in their SUVs — clearly, these guys were true-blue camping enthusiasts and nature lovers. It was evident to me that they spend time out in the wilderness and go out adventuring (that is, when they’re not rescuing hapless ladies who find themselves marooned in random sand dunes).
I know that in the grand scheme of things, four guys interrupting their plans to help a stranger out isn’t the biggest “Good Things Guy” headline. But I wanted to send this in anyway, because from my perspective, if ever there was a genuine, honest-to-goodness success story to showcase, it’s this little saga of Christoph’s reliable SUV pulling another car – with two of the cutest dogs in history sitting inside — out of the sand dunes. If that isn’t a feel-good story, I don’t know what is. 🙂
Thanks for letting me share it!”
Shravya’s story really did breed all those feel-good feelings, and we felt so happy reading her letter. She then shared some photos of her Good Samaritans and her beloved dogs to add an extra smile to our faces.
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