By Melissa Hanson
MassLive.com
One night just more than a month ago, a 71-year-old Marine Corps Vietnam-era veteran had to pull over on the side of Interstate 93 with tire trouble.
The Weymouth man had just crossed into Massachusetts from New Hampshire. But he didn’t have much cell service and was having a hard time trying to talk with his road service company on the phone.
But his luck changed when State Police Trooper Steven Hanafin came to his rescue.
“I was scared and had not much cell service left on my phone,” the man wrote in a letter to the State Police. “Then God sent an Angel, Tpr. Steven Hanafin, to my rescue... He protected me and after a while he even talked to my road service company and told them I was in a bad area and he hoped they could come soon.”
State Police shared parts of the letter online Tuesday.
The trooper promised the man he would not leave him alone on the highway until his tire was fixed.
“Then, while there, the Trooper saw my plate and thanked me for my service, and said ‘Semper Fi,’” the man wrote.
It turns out that Hanafin, of the Andover Barracks, is also a veteran.
“So there you are: God sent me an Angel, and a former Marine. Amazing. God works in mysterious ways,” he wrote.
Once the road service came and helped, Hanafin put the busted tire in the man’s trunk for him.
But that wasn’t the end of his car troubles.
“I closed up the trunk and then, can you believe it, I went to start my car and the battery was dead from having the flashers on,” the letter continued.
Again, Hanafin stayed.
“The Trooper made a phone call, and within five minutes two men showed up and jumped the battery. At last the man was able to continue his ride home,” State Police wrote.
Hanafin continued to go the extra mile, following the man as he got on the road to head home.
“He took my number and called me at my house to make sure I got home safe,” the man wrote. “Never in my life have I seen this and when I tell somebody they can’t believe what I tell them, even my brother who for 28 years (was) a police officer.”
Along with the letter, the man sent two Guardian Angel coins, one for Hanafin and one for Troop A Major Pat Russolillo.
“We are proud of the service provided, and compassion shown, by a Trooper to a man in a tough situation who needed his help,” State Police wrote. “The motorist’s own Guardian Angel truly did send him help that night when he needed it most in the form of MSP Trooper Steven Hanafin.”
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