From the snowy I-95 nightmare, a hero story emerged
Hundreds of drivers were stranded after a snowstorm brought the interstate to a standstill, but one driver faced a unique challenge -- and the way he conducted himself during it has led to a job offer afterward.
By
Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jan 11, 2022 5:38 PM EDT
|
Updated Jan 11, 2022 6:49 PM EDT
Stranded motorist wait for a tow on a section of Interstate 95 Tuesday Jan. 4, 2022, in Ladysmith, Va. Close to 48 miles of the interstate was closed due to ice and snow. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Davante Williams made a vow that he had to keep.
"I'm responsible for her and me at this moment," he told The Washington Post.
Amid the chaos of the winter storm-induced traffic standstill on Interstate 95 in Virginia last week, Williams saved the day. Not from a police car or even a snowplow, but rather from within his Uber.
The 32-year-old property manager and real estate agent drives for the rideshare company as a part-time gig to earn extra cash. But when the driver picked up a teenage passenger on that Monday night, he soon became a full-time hero.
Like hundreds of other drivers on I-95, Williams was trapped in the never-ending standstill traffic. The jam kept some cars stuck on the road for over 24 hours. But unlike most other drivers, Williams was on the clock and had a duty to deliver his passenger to her destination.
According to Williams, the teenage girl in the back seat was exhausted and stressed, constantly calling her parents to keep them updated. Williams, who had to turn his vehicle off every few minutes to preserve gas, knew he needed to get off the road and get the girl to safety.
“I need to get out of this traffic because my anxiety is starting, and I’m in a car with a complete stranger,” Williams told the Post.
After speaking with the girl's parents on the phone, Williams devised a strategy to get their daughter a hotel room so she could sleep. In the morning, after the roads reopened, he promised to drive her home at no charge.
The parents were reluctant at first but later agreed to the plan.
"They don't know me, I don't know them, and I get it," Williams told CNN. "They just want to make sure their child is safe."
The Uber driver managed to follow a work truck toward a turnaround on I-95, which allowed him to turn his vehicle in the opposite direction, back toward Washington, D.C. There, Williams said, he paid for a hotel room with his own money and checked the girl in at about 8 a.m., where a family friend later picked her up and drove her the rest of the way home.
The next day, Williams said, the girl texted him and told him she was safe. Williams, as seen below, posted a video to Twitter shortly after his heroic evening thanking everyone for the support he received.
"She thanked me for everything and her parents had also thanked me for doing what I did for their daughter because I didn't have to do it," he said.
In an email to CNN, Uber praised Williams for going "above and beyond during this very stressful situation," before later adding on Twitter that "not all heroes wear capes."
But beyond being reimbursed for the price of the hotel room and receiving $107 for the drive, Williams found himself earning an even better fare for his good deed – a new job.
Alto, an upscale rideshare company, offered him a part-time position to train other drivers on customer service and vehicle maintenance.
According to Williams, he and representatives from Alto were still working out the details of the job offer to balance with his other positions.
"We are thrilled," an Alto spokesperson told CNN. "DaVante is exactly the type of customer and safety-focused leader we are looking to help lead our D.C. presence."
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, DIRECTVstream, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeatherNOW is streaming on Roku and XUMO.
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News / Travel
From the snowy I-95 nightmare, a hero story emerged
Hundreds of drivers were stranded after a snowstorm brought the interstate to a standstill, but one driver faced a unique challenge -- and the way he conducted himself during it has led to a job offer afterward.
By Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jan 11, 2022 5:38 PM EDT | Updated Jan 11, 2022 6:49 PM EDT
Stranded motorist wait for a tow on a section of Interstate 95 Tuesday Jan. 4, 2022, in Ladysmith, Va. Close to 48 miles of the interstate was closed due to ice and snow. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Davante Williams made a vow that he had to keep.
"I'm responsible for her and me at this moment," he told The Washington Post.
Amid the chaos of the winter storm-induced traffic standstill on Interstate 95 in Virginia last week, Williams saved the day. Not from a police car or even a snowplow, but rather from within his Uber.
The 32-year-old property manager and real estate agent drives for the rideshare company as a part-time gig to earn extra cash. But when the driver picked up a teenage passenger on that Monday night, he soon became a full-time hero.
Like hundreds of other drivers on I-95, Williams was trapped in the never-ending standstill traffic. The jam kept some cars stuck on the road for over 24 hours. But unlike most other drivers, Williams was on the clock and had a duty to deliver his passenger to her destination.
According to Williams, the teenage girl in the back seat was exhausted and stressed, constantly calling her parents to keep them updated. Williams, who had to turn his vehicle off every few minutes to preserve gas, knew he needed to get off the road and get the girl to safety.
“I need to get out of this traffic because my anxiety is starting, and I’m in a car with a complete stranger,” Williams told the Post.
After speaking with the girl's parents on the phone, Williams devised a strategy to get their daughter a hotel room so she could sleep. In the morning, after the roads reopened, he promised to drive her home at no charge.
The parents were reluctant at first but later agreed to the plan.
"They don't know me, I don't know them, and I get it," Williams told CNN. "They just want to make sure their child is safe."
The Uber driver managed to follow a work truck toward a turnaround on I-95, which allowed him to turn his vehicle in the opposite direction, back toward Washington, D.C. There, Williams said, he paid for a hotel room with his own money and checked the girl in at about 8 a.m., where a family friend later picked her up and drove her the rest of the way home.
The next day, Williams said, the girl texted him and told him she was safe. Williams, as seen below, posted a video to Twitter shortly after his heroic evening thanking everyone for the support he received.
"She thanked me for everything and her parents had also thanked me for doing what I did for their daughter because I didn't have to do it," he said.
In an email to CNN, Uber praised Williams for going "above and beyond during this very stressful situation," before later adding on Twitter that "not all heroes wear capes."
But beyond being reimbursed for the price of the hotel room and receiving $107 for the drive, Williams found himself earning an even better fare for his good deed – a new job.
Alto, an upscale rideshare company, offered him a part-time position to train other drivers on customer service and vehicle maintenance.
According to Williams, he and representatives from Alto were still working out the details of the job offer to balance with his other positions.
"We are thrilled," an Alto spokesperson told CNN. "DaVante is exactly the type of customer and safety-focused leader we are looking to help lead our D.C. presence."
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For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, DIRECTVstream, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeatherNOW is streaming on Roku and XUMO.
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