Allen Iverson to the Rescue

Two college women, Eileen Mellon and Ashley Skewers were driving on interstate 64 in Newport News six weeks ago when suddenly Mellon turned and swerved from construction on an exit ramp and lost control. Her friend screamed and the car flipped three times landing on its side. Mellon had the presence of mind to turn off the car and then suddenly a knocking at the door came. She said of the incident: And then there was someone knocking on the window, asking if we were all right. He told us to roll down the window. I had to turn the car back on. He pulled Ashlee out. I looked up and said, 'Oh my God, you're Allen Iverson.'

The ambulance came and suggested they both go to the hospital. The women's friend April Snoparsky decided to write a letter to Philadelphia Daily News regarding Iverson's Good Samaritan exploits. Iverson said: "I feel good that they're appreciative," Iverson said in a telephone conversation during a break in the Denver Nuggets' training camp. "I look at it as just being a human being. They needed help. People have helped me."

He went on:

"I just saw the car on the left side of the road," he told the Rocky Mountain News this week. "It was crashed all up. You could see all the glass and stuff in the street from the wreck. The car was smoking. I was like, 'We've got to go see what's up with these people.' "Both of them said they were all right. One of them [Mellon], her seat belt was still on. I remember looking in there and asking, 'Are you sure you're all right? Is anything broken or anything like that?' One of them looked up and said, 'Oh my God, are you Allen Iverson?' I was like, 'Yeah, but don't worry about that. We're trying to get you all out and make sure you're all right.' "

Pulled to safety, Iverson saw the girls suddenly realize the severity of the moment. "When they got out of the car and looked at [it], that's when both of them lost it," he said. "They realized what it could have been. That's a scary sight. You can be in a car and be all right, but when you get out and look at the damage done, you're like, 'It could have been so much worse.' "

"I've seen accidents before, but usually you see police, fire trucks," Iverson said yesterday. "Nine times out of 10, the people are getting assistance. Here, I didn't see anybody. I saw a car parked [nearby] on the grass, with the [headlights] shining, but I didn't see anybody."

Here is to Allen Iverson and being a Good Samaritan. I have been in that situation myself and will NEVER forget what the people that stopped and helped did for me.