AMELIA COUNTY, Va. – The good Samaritans helping repair a road washed out in Amelia County during Monday’s severe weather continued to make progress Thursday.
The volunteers came forward after neighbors on Patten Road called the CBS 6 Problem Solvers saying they were stranded because of the damage.
After complete strangers offered to help, one of the volunteers realized he was making good on a promise to repay a good deed from 18 years ago.
Patten Road washed out
“I know it’s a blessing to them,” Winston Marsden said. “I know somebody was praying hard to have some help.”
Marsden now accepts that strong tug on his heart to help as a divine assignment after he organized the group of contractors to repair the damage Mother Nature left on Bill Ford's street in rural Amelia.
“It’s unbelievable,” Marsden said. “I just don't know what to say about it.”
Bill Ford and Winston Marsden.
Ford, a former police officer, was blown away that Marsden rallied contractors to repair the private road since it would have cost him and his neighbors thousands.
After several phone calls, Ford met Marsden face to face only to realize that they had met before.
“He helped save my life,” Marsden recalled.
Eighteen year ago while ATVing, Marsden plunged into icy water. Officer Ford and his partner came to his aid.
He vowed to one day repay Ford, so this project has brought their story full circle.
“I was in the right place at the right time,” Ford said. “We were in the right place at the right time.”
Now the contractors and other businesses are helping Marsden pay it forward.
David Morris, who is with the Lars Group, said the repair work is challenging but not impossible.
“Stopping the water from going so we can set the pipe, get the grades right [and] ...make sure everything is set right because if the water goes under the pipe, an incident can happen again,” Morris said.
“[This] makes me feel grateful that there are still people out there that care,” neighbor Josh McNamee said.
The volunteers cared enough to stop their lives to make sure these neighbors can continue on with theirs.
Crews said the work is expected to be completed in the next day or so.
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