After an auto vs. bike accident, a single mother’s only mode of transportation was left damaged and unusable. A firefighter and police officer worked together, using personal bike parts, to get the lady’s bike back to like-new condition for her work commute.
In June, the North Charleston Fire Department responded to a motor vehicle accident on Remount Rd. Dispatch advised the call was an auto vs bicycle. Luckily, there were no injuries.
Upon talking to the female on the bicycle, and making sure she was okay, she stated that she was just very upset because she is a single mother and the bicycle is her only form of transportation to and from work and she could not afford a bus pass.
The bicycle had an obvious bend in the front tire/rim and was un-rideable. The Captain at Fire Station 3 spoke with Firefighter Clarke, who is a bicycle technician, and asked if he had any extra bike rims available. He stated that he had some that were given to him and he would be happy to donate one.
Afterwards, Officer James Stewart with NCPD, formerly with NCFD, was called and asked if he could speak to Ms. Parker and bring the bike to Station 3 for Firefighter Clarke to inspect. She agreed and Officer Stewart had a NCPD Resource Officer bring over the bike.
It was discovered that the rear rim was damaged as well. Firefighter Clarke had two rims at home that would fit her bike. The next morning, he brought the bike to Station One and picked up his tools and the rims from his home. He even had to pull pieces off on one of his personal bikes to fix the damaged bike.
Upon completion, Officer Stewart made contact with Ms. Parker and made arrangements for fire personnel to deliver the bicycle back to her. Ms. Parker was most grateful for the repair job that had been done and was excited that she would be able to return to work the next Monday.
For going above and beyond the call of duty Firefighter Clarke was named Employee of the Month for the North Charleston Fire Department.