80-year-old man rescues stranded driver in blizzard after she sent an SOS on Facebook

80-year-old man rescues stranded driver in blizzard after she sent an SOS on Facebook.
80-year-old man rescues stranded driver in blizzard after she sent an SOS on Facebook. Via: Shannon St. Onge/FB

When Shannon St. Onge found herself trapped in a blizzard 80-year-old André Bouvier marched through the storm to her rescue.

St. Onge was driving back from a short trip to her office when the storm spiked unexpectedly. “I later found out that this kind of storm is called a ‘Saskatchewan screamer,'” she said. “It comes on remarkably fast and with extremely high winds.”

She called 911 and was advised to remain in her car where she’d be warm.

“I began to panic,” she said. “I began to worry about getting hit by an oncoming vehicle, getting buried in a snowbank or a snowdrift, having my tailpipe blocked by the snow … I was really worried I wouldn’t make it home to my children.”

Despite her panic, she did her best to assess the situation. She managed to spot a sign that read “Bouvier Lane”. She shared her situation and estimated location on her community’s Facebook page. The post was eventually spotted by Andre Bouvier Sr., who lived on a nearby farm.

Bouvier bundled up and walked out into the storm to help. Much to his surprise, he found two other vehicles stranded shortly before he reached St. Onge.

All seven stranded people were invited back to Bouvier’s farmhouse to waited out the storm.

“They fed us, laughed with us, bonded with us, and gave us blankets, pillows and a warm place to rest our eyes for a few hours,” said St. Onge.

“Everybody would have done the same thing,” Bouvier insisted. “You don’t think about it, you just do it.”

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