 Barry Stachniak sits behind the wheel of his truck and trailer where he lives and works at City Truck Stop and Truck Wash, in Edmonton, Alta., Wednesday, December 9 2009. Statchniak was left in the lurch by insurance companies after his truck was damaged when he helped a woman in distress in early November. Strangers have been approaching him offering help and money after his story was made public. (Sun Media/Amber Bracken)
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EDMONTON -- Strangers throughout Canada are rushing to help a local man whose good deed left him in a bad situation.
"Guys who don't even know me are stopping by to help," said Barry Stachniak. "The response has been phenomenal.
"I'm touched."
Stachniak, 49, has been sleeping in his broken-down, freezing camper since a pickup smashed into his home Nov. 28.
The enraged driver of the truck struck the camper, near 119 Avenue and 167 Street, as Stachniak was trying to rescue a woman being chased down by the pickup.
The impact broke the camper's door, and Stachniak said the truck's insurer won't cover the costs, claiming the vehicle was stolen.
After sharing his plight with readers, the Edmonton Sun received several inquiries yesterday, from Ottawa to Vancouver, from people hoping to help.
"It just doesn't seem fair," said Edmonton reader Jessica Johnson, who yesterday was working to collect funds for Stachniak.
"I think he should be warm, at least for Christmas."
Another couple wrote in, hoping to donate $400 for Stachniak to use toward a replacement door.
Others wrote hoping to give Stachniak Christmas cards, rental units, and piles of blankets to keep him warm until his door is repaired.
The phone at Truck Stop and Truck Wash, the 11959 167 St. company where Stachniak works, has been ringing constantly since his story was published.
People were stopping by yesterday to drop off cash, he said, and mechanics dropped in to examine his truck.
One told him his camper was a write-off and couldn't be repaired.
Still, Stachniak said hopeful donors have helped restore his faith in the kindness of strangers.
Helping the woman being chased by the pickup was the second time Stachniak rescued someone in danger last month.
He said his first shot at being a Good Samaritan came Nov. 2, when he emerged from his camper to find his boss 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.
MICHELLE.THOMPSON@SUNMEDIA.CA
