Woman reunites with stranger who helped her as a child after a crash, 35 years later
By Tim Caputo
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FULLERTON, California (KABC) — A random act of kindness left an imprint for 35 years, and now, Jennifer McLaughlin is finally getting to thank the stranger who stayed by her side after a tragic accident took her sister’s life.
She was only 9 years old when she survived a horrific car crash in Fullerton.
McLaughlin, who’s now in her 40s, doesn’t remember much of that night back in 1990, when her 29-year-old sister was killed in a crash on Harbor Boulevard.
“I don’t remember seeing a single car that night. It was raining, and I don’t even remember the ambulance pulling up, or any of it,” said McLaughlin.
But she did remember Rhonda Ray, a young mom who happened to be driving by that night and stopped when she saw the mangled cars.
“I don’t even remember what she looked like. I couldn’t tell you how old she was or nothing. I just knew she was there,” recalled McLaughlin.
Ray was more than just a presence that night.
McLaughlin had stepped out of the car and was standing on the side of the road. Ray says the first person who stopped was a doctor who was with the driver, Jennifer’s sister Tammy, who didn’t survive.
“I looked all over, and she was standing alone. She was wet. She was in shock, and she was shaking,” said Ray.
Ray stayed with 9-year-old McLaughlin in the rain, followed her to the hospital, and even stuck around until the child’s parents arrived.
It was an act of kindness that over the next 35 years, McLaughlin never forgot.
“I thought about Rhonda throughout my whole life. Every time I told people my story, Rhonda was always part of it,” said McLaughlin, who moved away from Orange County for almost two decades after joining the military.
When she returned, every time she drove by where the crash happened on Harbor Boulevard, she again thought of Rhonda, and last month, she had a crazy idea.
“I just wanted to say ‘thank you’ and give her a hug and say, ‘You helped shape a little bit of who I am,'” said McLaughlin, who, after contacting police and checking medical records, decided to go to social media.
She posted on the Facebook group “Fullerton Buzz’, writing “Hi Fullerton, This is a very long shot… I don’t remember much from that day, but I do remember how nice this lady was to me.”
The community responded, some even pointing her to local private detectives to track down Ray.
Ray’s adult daughter also saw the post and commented, “Hi there! I believe you are talking about my mom!” and then called her mother.
“She goes, ‘Mom, remember that girl that you helped?’ because I had told her the story. I said, ‘Are you kidding me?'” Ray said.
That brief and chance encounter decades ago came full circle for two people who carried the weight of that tragic night for 35 years.
“(Jennifer) called me, and as soon as I heard her voice, we were both crying. I was so happy she’s ok, and is such an amazing human being,” said Ray.
Social media, which can sometimes be divisive and ugly, made the beautiful reunion possible.
Thanks to Ray’s action that night, McLaughlin has spent her life looking for good, and decades later, she’s finally found it.
“She didn’t have to stop. She didn’t have to go to the hospital with me. She stopped her whole day to be with this little 9-year-old girl who she didn’t know, and that’s what I’ve spent my life trying to be, and that has been ingrained in me since I was a child, to be a good person, to be the helper,” said McLaughlin, who added that the reunion is more than the one time meet up. They’ve had a connection their whole lives, and now they’ll be in touch for the rest of their lives.
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