Eva Mays, left, granddaughter of Don Hostetler, the man saved during the storm, said with gratitude and humor that she was happy to see "five strangers in the house" that morning of Sept. 27. She is pictured here with Hostetler's daughter, Karen Mays.
Shortly before 7 a.m. on Sept. 27, the wind still whipping from Tropical Storm Helene, and a 94-year-old North Augusta man was pinned in his bed by a fallen tree at his Hammond Hills home.
But Don Hostetler had only minor injuries from the incident and recovered quickly. His life was saved by a group of five people he didn't know, plus a North Augusta Department of Public Safety sergeant who responded to the call on foot, his patrol car having been damaged in the storm.
"It was absolutely terrifying. Helpless for three hours and not having anyone come," Hostetler's granddaughter, Eva, recalled. "And finally having people come and rescue him... and it was just such a relief to see strangers in the house because I was like, maybe they know what to do."
North Augusta Public Safety Sgt. Kyle Golden was responding to calls on foot, multiple trees having landed on his patrol car, and by chance met up with Matthew Turner whom he knew and who said he wanted to help when Golden had no other help.
It was North Augusta Mayor Briton Williams who on Nov. 18 told the story of that morning. Sgt. Golden, Turner and the five others who ended up helping - William "Billy" Holsonback, Daniel Holsonback, Ryan Raskin, and Matthew Berry - were also present, along with Eva and Hostetler's daughter, Karen Mays; and Raskin's wife, a nurse, who later evaluated Hostetler's condition.
The wind was still high when Golden and the others arrived at Hostetler's home. They could not determine at first whether Hostetler was alive.
The wind would cause the tree pinning Hostetler to shift and more debris to fall even as the men worked to free him. The civilians stayed on to help even after Golden warned of the danger.
Eventually, Golden and two of the men lifted a large piece of the debris from Hostetler while the others helped him out from under it.
Mayor Williams, relaying Golden's report, said that had the five civilians - the five "strangers in the house" for whom Eva said she was thankful - not aided Golden, there was high probability that Hostetler would not have been freed in time and that he would have suffocated.
"You were able to remove the broken structural members, roofing material and tree debris that had him pinned on his bed so that he could be taken to a local hospital to ensure he received immediate medical attention and care; and this was completed while the Hurricane was still raging outside causing the trees to continually shift that were up against the residence," Mayor Williams said, speaking to the five and to Golden Nov. 18 while reading from a formal proclamation recognizing them as good Samaritans.
North Augusta, he said, "is blessed to have such thoughtful, caring and compassionate citizens who were not afraid to risk life and limb to come to the aid" of one they didn't even know.