Iowa family finds refuge and kindness after blizzard traps drivers
By Marcus McIntosh
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AMES, Iowa (KCCI) — Rafael and Sarah Soriano thought Sunday’s drive home to Ames from New Hampton would be routine — about 2 1/2 hours, as usual.
Before leaving, they checked the radar and weather and believed they were ahead of anything serious.
But what should have been a quick trip stretched into an ordeal lasting more than 24 hours.
Trouble escalated after they turned south onto Interstate 35 near Mason City, when winds and flurries intensified into near-whiteout conditions.
“Once the wind and the flurries came up, it was more than we expected,” Sarah Soriano said.
Raphael Soriano said the change was abrupt: “It happened really quick — faster than we expected.”
Sarah Soriano later described the scene in a Facebook post: crashes unfolding around them, semi-trailers jackknifing and mile markers disappearing in blowing snow.
With visibility collapsing and traffic snarling, the family decided they needed to get off the interstate, but options were limited.
“Most of those exits don’t have services either,” Sarah Soriano said. “So, as the gas gauge is dropping, I want to get off that road.”
The couple was traveling in two vehicles and had to coordinate every move, staying in constant contact by phone on speaker. “We were driving two cars,” Rafael Soriano said. “Sarah was driving the van, and I was driving my car with my son in the back.”
Eventually, they pulled onto the shoulder, unsure what to do next.
Help arrived from a stranger who stopped after seeing them pulled over, the Sorianos said. The driver told them he had already contacted the Iowa State Patrol and that the Latimer Community Center was open as a shelter.
“The first thing he asked is if we needed help,” Rafael Soriano said. “He didn’t have to do that.”
Inside the community center, the family said their anxiety eased almost immediately. “Immediately, it was very peaceful in there,” Sarah Soriano said. “We didn’t know what to expect.”
As many as 60 people took refuge there, and residents brought food, blankets and essentials, including supplies for children.
“They just showed up,” Sarah Soriano said. “There is not much in Latimer … (but) that little store that was right next door just stayed open … and … just brought bags of kids (items) out of her own stock.” The Soriano children, she added, treated it “like a great adventure.”
The family was able to leave around 11:30 a.m. Monday and got home a few hours later.
They cannot thank the Latimer community enough.
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