Troopers Drive Woman Across Utah to See Sick Son

When 87-year-old Helen Smith of Nevada learned that her son was near death in a Utah hospital, she hopped in her car and began the 350-mile trip. The problem is that she buzzed by a Utah trooper en route, and he pulled her over to issue a warning, reports KUTV. When Smith tried to pull back onto the highway, she backed right into Jeff Jones' patrol car instead. At that point, the distraught Smth told Jones about her son, and he engineered an unusual shuttle to get her to the hospital.

After arranging to have her car taken to the sheriff's department, the trooper drove her to the county line, then handed her off to another trooper, reports USA Today. In all, four troopers got Smith to the hospital to see her son, who was moved into hospice care today. "To hold her hand walking into the hospital was very, very rewarding," says Trooper Andrew Pollard, who handled the final leg into Ogden. Or as Smith puts it, "Four good-lookin' patrol boys brought me." (More uplifting news stories.)