STEWARTSVILLE, PA (WPMT) — Maureen Fromm was worried — it was 4 in the morning and she hadn’t heard from her sister-in-law, Janet, since the day before. After a tense hour of waiting, she received a call from the state police.
“We just thank the Lord because so many things could have happened,” she said.
Her sister-in-law, 85-year-old Janet Finegan, had driven 18 hours and 250 miles after getting lost on her way to Walmart.
“[The police officer] said, ‘Do you know where you are?'” Janet recalled. “I said, ‘Not really.’ He said, ‘Well, you’re almost near Pittsburgh.’ I said, ‘Pittsburgh!'”
By the time she arrived at the Elizabeth Borough police station around 5:30 a.m., Janet was cold, hungry and disoriented, and her car had a flat tire.
“I think their mind was blown,” she said. “What’s this little old lady all by herself doing out in the middle of the night?”
The Elizabeth Borough Police police gave her a blanket and a comfortable seat. After breakfast, they also gave her a ride to a rest area halfway between Pittsburgh and York, where Maureen picked her up.
Then the officers went the extra mile to return Janet’s car home safe and sound. On Dec. 24 they drove her 2004 Saturn all the way back to her York house—a four-hour journey. The car had gotten a complete tune-up, including wheel and tire replacements.
“I’m speechless how nice people are,” Janet said.
Trailing behind the car came an entire police cavalcade.
“We had a crowd out there,” Maureen said. “You could just see the neighbors coming out. They probably wondered, ‘What did she do?’ There are state police officers all over the place.'”
Maureen said she wants to make sure Janet never gets so lost again.
“I would like to be her Uber driver,” she said.
She now feels relief, she said, and gratitude for the Elizabeth Borough Police. Because the car was delivered on Christmas Eve, she was especially touched seeing people go above and beyond to help someone else.
