No strangers at all: Families' tragedy brings overwhelming kindness

During their darkest hour, a bright light shone through in the form of random acts of kindness for the Dickson and Vincent families.

Stephanie Vincent and Buddy Dickson, along with sons Logan and Tony, set out to Louisiana with Buddy's father, Ron, on Feb. 11. Buddy's sister, Amy Lodge and her family, had moved down there a few months before for her husband's job. They were going for a visit for the long weekend.

They met with trouble road in the middle of the night when their vehicle left the dark, icy road and went into the river. Four-year-old Logan and Ron were killed in the accident.

Stephanie, Buddy and Tony fought their way out of the freezing river to go for help. They walked to the nearest house, which belonged to Bill and Gloria Beasley.

"They had left their outside light on," Buddy said. "I don't know if it was a motion light or what but it kept going off and on. When it was on, I could see, but when it went off, it was pitch darkness again."

No strangers at all

They finally made it to the home of these strangers, people they had never met before.

"They came rushing to the door to let us in," Stephanie said. "They called emergency services for us. They took care of us, got us out of our freezing wet clothes. It was like we weren't even strangers to them at all."

Buddy, Stephanie and Tony were taken to Riverland Medical Center in Ferriday, La., where they met a special nurse. "There was so much going on that I can't remember her name," Stephanie said. "She had been at the hospital for a long time because of the weather. She went home, took a shower, changed clothes and came back to be with us. She stayed with us until we left."

Sheriff's Deputy Dennis Cowan not only kept them company during their hours of need, he also found clothes and books for Tony. The Beasleys called their pastor, Larry Wagoner, who came to the hospital to be with them, too.

"He stayed with us and never left our side," Stephanie said. "He prayed with Logan."

Divers search

It took divers to find the vehicle in the water, and one of them, Billy Joe McKellan, called Stephanie and Buddy himself.

"He was the one who found Logan," Stephanie said. "He called and talked to us personally."

"He told us how peaceful he looked," Amy said. "He said he cradled him out of the water and that they all were very respectful of Logan."

One of the other reasons he called them is because Logan's puppy was also found in the vehicle. "He wanted to know what to do with the puppy," Stephanie said. "He told us he would take care of the puppy for us and give it a proper burial."

Amy's husband, Dave, works for immigration services in Louisiana. His coworkers came to his help, too. Tim Standish tried to get Dave some extra leave.

"Jeremy Lee came to our house and got the luggage that had been in the truck," she said. "He and his wife washed and dried and packed it all up for us. Charles Dean was at the hospital and Gerald Smith came to the visitation as a representative."

Not only did the people of Louisiana give of their time, they also gave from their wallets. Delta Bank in Ferriday donated to them, even though they had no connections to it at all. St. Patrick's Church also donated money.

The family ran into trouble trying to get everyone home. They needed seven seats and used an Internet booking service to secure a flight, a very expensive one.

"We paid $3,600 for seven seats," Amy said, "but when we got to the airport, there were no seats available. So, we hit the road."

Friends in deed

Soon, they would see kindness from their friends and family in Bedford County. They had already seen some of it from Stephanie's coworkers at National Pen who had collected money on Friday for her.

"By Saturday afternoon, there was a check for over $3,000 at my house," Amy said. "They had overnighted it to us."

In the midst of all of this, Amy and Buddy's mom, Betty, was stuck at her home in Flat Creek.

"I wasn't sure what I needed to do," she said, "but I eventually decided I was going to get down there no matter what."

Her neighbor, Carlos Alvaredo, who is a pilot and knows many other pilots, tried to find someone to fly her down.

"Because of the ice storm, no light planes were allowed in or out," she said, "so we decided to drive."

She was joined by David Wiser and T.J. Burton on the drive. They made it as far as Birmingham when Amy called them.

"We had been driving along when out of the blue, Gary Boyce called me," Amy said. "He asked me if we could get home."

Flown home

He, along with Michael Simons and two other pilots, picked up the seven, which included Amy and Dave and their three children, in Jackson, Miss., and flew them home in two planes.

"Amy called me and told us about the planes," Betty said. "We turned around and headed this way."

"The pilots didn't charge us a penny," Stephanie said, "and when we got to the airport, there was a big crowd there waiting for us."

An account was set up at Regions Bank for the family, and many people have donated to it. Tons more brought food. Amy's friend, Sharon Amos, took care of her children so Amy didn't have to worry about them during visitation or the funeral. Scott Cook and Jay Brinkley brought firewood for Betty's wood stove. Alan Delffs fixed Betty's driveway which had been washed out by the recent heavy rains and snow.

The funeral procession was led by a John Deere Tractor donated by Bedford Tractor.

"Daddy always wanted one and Logan loved them," Buddy said.

The family has been overwhelmed by the kindness they received.

"We can't name everyone and what they've done," Buddy said, "but we remember them."

"Their kindness makes it all bearable," Amy said.

"I just want everyone to know much we love them, and we'll never forget what they've done," Stephanie said. "I will always remember them."