I towed some dude home yesterday. Came up to a stop sign and this black Kia van wasn't moving. He'd roll back a few inches every few minutes.
My wife says: "You should back up. They don't look like they know how to drive that manual."
A obliged. Eventually, the 4 way is dead and I pull up next to the dude and ask if he needs help. The bitch behind me starts blowing her horn. It's not like I stop in the oncoming traffic lane next to a stranded motorist just to delay her from Starbucks often. I pulled over and pushed (almost single handedly until an old man pulled up to the stop sign) his van to the side of the road (on a slight incline).
After getting him off the road safely, I leave. I turned around about a half mile down the road to see if I could help the dude anymore. He just had a down-on-his-luck look on his face. The motor of his Kia would start, but sounded like it had a hole in the block on top of a VERY LOUD knock. I'm never asked him to open the hood. I didn't need to in order to know that I wasn't going to be able to help him there on the side of the road. I offered to go home, get my truck, and return with a tow strap.
He lived about 3.5 miles away and said that he couldn't afford to take it to a shop. So to his house....down the sketchiest dirt road....he got towed. I'm mainly thankful that he didn't run into the back of me during the tow. My recovery gear (straps, shackles, etc.) was all too big to fit through the tiny tow points on his van (which only had 153k on the odo), so I had to go with an old shitty torn-and-tied-back-together rope that I keep in one of the bedside cubby holes. I'm amazed that it stayed in tact.
In talking with him afterward, he just found out that he is due to have his 3rd kid. They thought they lost the baby just a few days earlier and were ready to terminate when they found the heartbeat. He lives in a shack on the back of his uncle's property (who tried to run my wife off with a gun after she followed to make sure that I wasn't murdered), and doesn't have enough money to get much of anything until his next paycheck in 2 weeks.
The uncle became friendly when my wife explained what was going on. He said they have the property listed for sale for $3.6M....which makes me not feel bad for not giving the guy any money. I considered it, but decided against it.
No pics. The dude was red in the face and looked like he had been crying. I wasn't about to take a picture of him or the situation. He was grateful and seemed much happier by the time I left.