Local News

Big Comedy Bails Out Stranded Motorists

(La Porte, IN) - The recent Christmas blizzard created road hazards that dampened the holidays for some. For plow drivers and tow trucks, it was a chance to cash in, but one La Porte local decided to use his new Ford pickup for the public good.

 

As the storm hit, Charlie Young posted an offer on Facebook to help out any drivers in need. Many know Young as an organizer of Big Comedy La Porte, but during the snowstorm, he was the Lone Ranger. Young figured, on the biggest holiday weekend of the year, people would be out on the roadways regardless of the weather. And with so many people strapped for cash, why pay a tow truck for a simple tug out of a ditch?

 

Young says it’s the kind of thing he often does anyway, but under the circumstances, he decided to put the word out.

 

“We threw together a quick little, really poorly Photoshopped ad, and threw it out there,” he said. “And it gained traction like we couldn’t believe.”

 

By late Christmas Eve, Young had helped 25 stranded motorists. He says he literally drove from one side of La Porte County to the other, and he encountered all kinds of minor emergencies. “I did some jumpstarts,” Young said. “One guy was at a hotel, and he was completely safe, but he needed a jumpstart, so I was there first thing in the morning. There were a lot of people stuck in parking lots they thought were plowed.” One man called for help, but got himself unstuck by the time Young arrived.

 

“Sometimes it was just knowing that you had the support if you needed it,” Young said.

 

One of Young’s last jobs of the weekend was helping a mom and her two small children get back to their home in New Carlisle so they wouldn’t miss Santa.

 

The Big Comedy organizer did not charge for his services, and he emphasized that many other people were out doing similar deeds. Young said any donations he received would go to the charity he helps run, Big Comedy La Porte.

 

Big Comedy’s signature event, Inappropriate Trivia Night, is coming up on February 4. But there’s nothing inappropriate about what Charlie did over the weekend.

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