Mail carrier rescues woman who had fallen in sub-zero temperatures

The woman struggled for 19 minutes to try to get up before a mail carrier helped carry her into the house.

The woman struggled for 19 minutes to try to get up before a mail carrier helped carry her into the house.

A LIFESAVING RESECU FROM THE COLD AND IT WAS CAUGHT ON CAMERA. STAC:EYN AAMAZING STORY. A MAIL CARRIER FOUND A WOMAN THAT HAD FALLEN ON THE SNOW AND ICE WHO COULD NOT GET BACK OUT. ANDREW MOLLENBECK SPOKE WITH THE MAN THAT CAME TO HER RESCUE. ANDREW: THIS WAS NOT EVEN HIS NORMAL ROUTE. HE FOUND THE WOMAN CAUGHT OUT IN THE COLD. THE WIND CHILL WAS ABOUT FIVE BELOW WHEN LINDA AND OUT TO GET THE MAIL WEESDNDAY. A SURVEILLANCE CAMERA MOUNTED ON THE GARAGE SHOWS THE MOMENT SHE SLIPPED AND FELL. AT WAS PAINFUL ENOUGH BUT THEN, SHE COULD NOT GET BACK OUT. >> I HAD MY RUBBER BOOTS, SNOW BOOTS, AND I COULD NOT GET THEM UNDERNEATH ME TO GET UP AGAIN. ANDREW: TEIM PASSED AND SO DID THE CARS ON INDIANOLA AVENUE. 19 MINUTES AND NO LPHE UNTIL CHRIS MEYER EVENTUALLY ARRIVED ON THE MAIL ROUTE. >> IT GOTOT THE POINT THAT I COULD NOT CRY, I WAS SO COLD. HETO SPPED AND PICKED ME UP. EVEN GETTING ME OMYN FEET, I WAS STILL WOBBLY FROM BEING COLD. ANDREW: THE VIDEO SHOWSIM H HELPING HER ALL THE WAY INTO THE HOUSE. NATURALLY HE EVEN BROUGHT IN THE MAIL THAT SHE DROPPED. >> IF IT WAS MY MOTHER OR MY GRANDMA, I WOULD WANT SOMEONE TO HELP HER OUT AND THERE WAS NO ONE THERE TO HELP HER. ANDREW: DRIVING THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOODS HE SEES A LOT BUT THE EVENTS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON STICK OUT TO HIM. >> I HAVE NEVER WITNESSED ANYTHING LIKE THAT BEFORE WHILE I WAS AT WORK. BUT I AM GLAD I WAS ABLE TO HELP HER OUT AND THAT SHE IS .OK ANDREW: WEN BOATWRIGHT ONLY FO UND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW AFTER HE SAW THE SURVEILLANCE VIDEO. >> A GOOD SAMARITAN STOPPED AND HELPED MY MOM AND SAVED HER LIFE. WE NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE HIM. ANEW:DR THE FAMILY WOULD LIKE TO SEE CHRIS MEYER GET RECOGNITION BUT FOR NOW, JUST A LOT OF THANKFULNESS. >> THANK YOU, THANK YOU, YOU ARE A GOOD SAMARITAN. ANDR:EW SHE SAYS SHE HAS NO

Mail carrier rescues woman who had fallen in sub-zero temperatures

The woman struggled for 19 minutes to try to get up before a mail carrier helped carry her into the house.

The wind chill was 5 degrees below zero when Linda Houlton fell trying to get her mail, and for the next 19 minutes, she struggled in vain to get back on her feet and out of the cold.Though the home sits along busy Indianola Avenue, no one stopped to help until Chris Meyer pulled up in a mail truck. It was not his normal route. "We had a carrier that was gone that day, so I had a part of his route that I don't normally do," Meyer said.It turned out to be a serendipitous assignment. Security video from the home shows he lifted Houlton off the ground, carried her to the house and, on brand, retrieved the mail she had dropped in the fall. "If it was my mother or my grandma, I'd want someone to help her out, and there was no one there to help her," Meyer said. Houlton said she didn't know exactly how long she had been struggling alone until Meyer gave her the time. A timestamp on the security camera confirmed it was 19 minutes. "It got to a point, I couldn't cry," she said. "It was so cold that he stopped and picked me up, even to get me on my feet. And I was still wobbly from being cold."Despite the fall and time spent in the cold, Houlton has no lingering injuries. "I'm not going to go out and check mail in the wintertime anymore," she said with a chuckle. The family turns serious when recognizing Meyer's action. Wen Boatwright, Houlton's son-in-law, found out what happened by watching the security video. "Tears in the eyes. It was relief," he said. "A good Samaritan stopped and helped my mom. Saved her life. We need more people like him out there."The family hopes Meyer will get some kind of national recognition for the rescue. But until such a time, they're letting him know how they feel. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," Houlton said. "You're a very good Samaritan."

DES MOINES, Iowa —

The wind chill was 5 degrees below zero when Linda Houlton fell trying to get her mail, and for the next 19 minutes, she struggled in vain to get back on her feet and out of the cold.

Though the home sits along busy Indianola Avenue, no one stopped to help until Chris Meyer pulled up in a mail truck. It was not his normal route.

"We had a carrier that was gone that day, so I had a part of his route that I don't normally do," Meyer said.

It turned out to be a serendipitous assignment.

Security video from the home shows he lifted Houlton off the ground, carried her to the house and, on brand, retrieved the mail she had dropped in the fall.

"If it was my mother or my grandma, I'd want someone to help her out, and there was no one there to help her," Meyer said.

Houlton said she didn't know exactly how long she had been struggling alone until Meyer gave her the time. A timestamp on the security camera confirmed it was 19 minutes.

"It got to a point, I couldn't cry," she said. "It was so cold that he stopped and picked me up, even to get me on my feet. And I was still wobbly from being cold."

Despite the fall and time spent in the cold, Houlton has no lingering injuries.

"I'm not going to go out and check mail in the wintertime anymore," she said with a chuckle.

The family turns serious when recognizing Meyer's action.

Wen Boatwright, Houlton's son-in-law, found out what happened by watching the security video.

"Tears in the eyes. It was relief," he said. "A good Samaritan stopped and helped my mom. Saved her life. We need more people like him out there."

The family hopes Meyer will get some kind of national recognition for the rescue. But until such a time, they're letting him know how they feel.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Houlton said. "You're a very good Samaritan."

Mail carrier rescues woman who had fallen in sub-zero temperatures

The woman struggled for 19 minutes to try to get up before a mail carrier helped carry her into the house.

GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS

Top Picks