Local Ohio towing company earns award for an act of heroism

[TowNews]

POMEROY, Ohio. (WTAP) - On March 18, AAA and Ford Motor Company awarded Riverside Auto and Towing LLC with the Ford Real Heroes Award. This award is given to towing companies that truly go out of their way for those in the community that needs them.

 

RESOURCE LINK with video

 

It was Christmas Eve in 2019, and Lee Richards and his wife Tina were getting ready for their big family get-together. Around 6 p.m. the phone rang. A young girl named Alexa was driving throughout the night to surprise her parents in Florida on Christmas Day when one of her car tires popped and she needed help.

 

Being a Triple-A member, Alexa called them for assistance in order to have them reach out to a local Triple-A towing company. That was where Riverside towing came in.

 

Lee and Tina Richards own Riverside Auto and Towing LLC, and most towing companies are closed for the holidays by this time. It turns out, where Alexa was located wasn’t far from Lee and Tina’s house, so Lee hopped in his truck and met up with Alexa.

 

When Lee arrived at the scene, he saw Alexa was cold, tired, and scared. She didn’t have a spare tire with her, so Lee offered to tow her car back to his house and repair the tire there.

 

When Alexa arrived, she was greeted by Tina with open arms and made her feel comfortable while Lee fixed the tire.

Lee was able to not only repair the tire but also gave Alexa a spare as well. Keeping in the season with the Christmas spirit, Lee told Alexa the fix was free of charge.

 

Before Alexa left, Lee and Tina packed her some snacks for the road and gave her advice on where to stop if she needed a hotel, gas, and food.

 

It was after this experience that Tina decided to enter her and her husband’s story for the award, after receiving an email from AAA to enter.

 

In attendance for the ceremony were multiple executives from both AAA and the Ford Motor Company. In fact, some of the executives said Lee and Tina’s story hit home because they have young daughters named Alexa, and they were happy to know that there were people out there that would help in any way they could.

 

Tina also mentioned that year for Christmas, her youngest daughter wanted an Amazon Alexa, and after Tina and Lee helped out Alexa, they gave their daughter an Alexa to remember that Christmas by.

 

For their heroism, the Richards were awarded $30,000 towards a brand-new tow truck for the company.

 

RESOURCE LINK