Good Samaritan in an SUV. (The Goodness of America).

Mr. and Mrs. Sione Falepapalangi and their five children live in West Valley City, Utah (a suburb of Salt Lake City). On the afternoon of November 27th, they set out for California in the family van, intending to spend Thanksgiving with Mr. Falepapalangi's mother. But as they approached the Utah-Nevada border, smoke began pouring from the van's engine compartment. Mr. Falepapalangi stopped to investigate. As described by his wife, Tuna, in the next day's Salt Lake Tribune, "My husband burned his hand on the hood and just said 'Get out!' We got our things and it just blew up."

Flames were leaping 15 feet into the air before the nearest firefighters (about 30 minutes away) arrived. They quickly extinguished the fire, but were too late to save the van, which was gutted.

With their Thanksgiving plans now in shambles, the Falepapalangis faced the dilemma of finding a way back home. Another motorist (identified only as "Mike") was on his way to Salt Lake City to spend the holiday with his own family when he noticed the burning van and the stranded family. Stopping to render assistance, he offered the Falepapalangis a ride (there was plenty of room in his SUV). Mr. Falepapalangi told THE NEW AMERICAN that after "Mike" dropped the family off in West Valley, he declined to accept money for his time and trouble. The grateful beneficiary of the stranger's kindness remarked, "He's a real Good Samaritan."