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Kindness in the midst of tragedy on the Ohio Turnpike

3 Dead, 50 Vehicles Wrecked on Ohio Turnpike

Last week, a series of chain reaction crashes involving almost 90 vehicles on the Ohio Turnpike left traffic at a standstill. Three people were killed. A state trooper was seriously injured.

When local Monroeville couple John and Sharon Ambrose — who live less than half a mile from the turnpike — realized that some motorists had been stranded for hours, they sprang into action... and made sandwiches.

The couple put peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches in labeled baggies. They gathered pretzels, bottled water, applesauce, Graham crackers, diapers and milk — in case there were babies in the cars. They then loaded the supplies in a wheelbarrow tray which John could pull through snow drifts.

John made the trek to the turnpike on foot, then tossed the food over a 3-foot-tall barbed fence on Thomas Road. Truck drivers on the other side caught it for him.

"I tossed everything over," John told the Norwalk Reflector. "They (the truckers) were very helpful...They must have seen me coming across. I had a yellow hat on."

John then wandered from vehicle to vehicle, offering food to stranded drivers and their families.

"A lawyer even walked with him for a bit and kept him company," Sharon told Fox 8 News. "He was out there a good couple of hours."

One family of five took some Graham crackers, water and applesauce.

"It was such a good experience," John said. "It was just a really good experience."

On Friday night, Ohio Turnpike officials announced that all lanes of the turnpike were finally open again.