A trucker seriously injured in a single-rig wreck in Michigan last week just wants to find the man who comforted him as he waited for help.
The wreck in question happened on Wednesday, June 23rd in Norton Shores on Highway 31.
According to MLive, 28-year-old Paul Maksim was driving south on US 31 when he skidded on wet pavement while changing lanes and smashed into a concrete overpass. The force of the impact pinned Maksim in the cab of his truck and he screamed for help – that’s when the mystery Good Samaritan appeared.
As Maksim was pinned by his steering wheel, two witnesses to the crash came over – one woman in scrubs who called for help and a man who crawled into the cab to comfort Maksim, apparently named Isaac.
“He held my husband’s hand trying to distract him and talk to him like ‘Hey, stay awake with me. Tell me your name. Don’t worry, help is coming for you,’” said Courtney Maksim.
“Not everybody will stop to comfort someone like that,” she continued. “It takes a special soul to comfort somebody who’s screaming in pain.”
Emergency responders arrived within five minutes and Maksim was transported to the hospital with broken hips, a snapped femur, fractures to his ribs and spine, a broken wrist and deep cuts to his ear and hand. He remains in the hospital as he recovers and his family stays in a nearby hotel.
In addition to the kind strangers who helped at the scene of the accident, the family is getting a lot of support from their local community.
“A lot of accidents happen with semi-truck drivers; a lot of them,” she said. “And this community made him feel like he wasn’t just a semi-truck driver. He’s a husband, he’s a father, he’s a son, he’s our world.”
Paul Maksim faces six weeks of recovery as he learns to move normally again. The couple hopes to get him transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility closer to home so he can recover, but for now, they two remain focused on finding Isaac.
“My husband is adamant on finding Isaac because he really wants to thank him in person,” Courtney said.
Anyone with tips on who Isaac was can reach out to Courtney Maksim through the GoFundMe contact form.