 Barry Stachniak peers through the frosted window of his cold travel trailer yesterday, damaged after he helped a woman in distress escape from a man in a pickup truck at his homesite in Edmonton. Alta. Insurance won't cover the damage, saying the truck was stolen. (Sun Media/Amber Bracken)
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EDMONTON -- It doesn't always pay to be a good guy, a down-on-his-luck man has learned.
Edmonton's hero of the day is now forced to sleep in a broken-down camper, shivering through nights because his busted door lets the frigid air slip in.
The door broke as Barry Stachniak -- who's being credited with saving two lives last month -- was rescuing a woman being chased by the enraged driver of a pickup truck.
"I did a good deed," said Stachniak, who moved to Edmonton from Redwater for contract work.
"And now I'm getting shafted."
The Good Samaritan sprang into action Nov. 28 after a stranger started banging on his camper door about 3:30 a.m., pleading for help.
The woman had just been struck by a pickup, which was being piloted by a man intent on running her down, police said.
After letting the shaken victim inside, Stachniak said he emerged from the trailer and told the driver he was calling the cops.
The truck then smashed into Stachniak's camper near 119 Avenue and 167 Street, breaking its door before speeding away.
Police arrested and charged a man in the case, but Stachniak said the truck's insurer won't cover the costs, claiming the vehicle used in the crime was stolen.
"It's 40-below outside, and my camper door won't close," said Stachniak. "It just seems unfair."
Helping the woman was the second time Stachniak rescued someone in danger last month.
The 49-year-old said his first shot at being a Good Samaritan came Nov. 2, when he emerged from his camper to find his boss at the neighbouring City Truck Stop and Truck Wash, 11959 167 St., lying on the ground.
The store owner, Mansur Shivji, had broken several bones in an eight-metre fall off a ladder while washing a truck.
Stachniak rushed to the 64-year-old's aid immediately, calling an ambulance and Shivji's wife.
"He was a godsend," said Shivji, who will spend the next three months recovering at home.
"He was very helpful. He just came at the right time."
While some are thanking Stachniak, others are sympathizing with him.
Nick Sajim, who works at a UFA gas station near Stachniak's camper, brings Stachniak coffee often to help keep him warm.
"My heart goes out to him," said Sajim. "He's getting the short end of the stick."
Stachniak appears to feel the same.
"I guess I saved two people's lives," he said. "And this is what I get."
MICHELLE.THOMPSON@SUNMEDIA.CA
