BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Many drivers stayed home during the big storm on Sunday, but for those who had no choice but to be out on the roads, some headaches ensued. Here’s how our 69 News crew in South Bethlehem found themselves on both sides of getting stuck in the snow.
With a big storm blanketing much of our large region Sunday, throughout the morning and into the afternoon on Bethlehem’s south side, 69 News saw plenty of cars getting stuck in the snow. And we did our fair share of pushing our weight.
During our live weather coverage, we learned of even more cars trapped in the snow that were freed up by local do-gooders.
“A guy got stuck here leaving Riverport,” Donte, a local snowboarder, said. “And we helped him get back on the road. He’s from Jersey, and hopefully he makes it back home safe.”
But then came our turn to ask for help.
“It’s piling up very quickly,” 69 News photojournalist Heather Beck said. “And driving is not an option at this moment.”
On live TV, when a turn off of East 3rd Street took a turn for the worst:
“We actually just got stuck as we were coming on air right now,” I said, in the middle of our live roaming coverage.
Some Good Samaritans didn’t shy away from the task of helping us.
“Looks like we’ve got a couple people coming here to bail us out too,” I said, while stuck in the snow on live TV. “So I’m about to get out, push this vehicle with these nice gentlemen, I think.”
And bail us out, they did!
“They happened to be walking by, and they’re like, ‘hey, we’ll push you out,” Beck said.
“It’s crazy, I’ve never encountered snow like this before,” Rian Wood, who moved to Bethlehem from Ireland, said. “Like I’m not from Bethlehem, but it is completely wacky.”
It only took a couple seconds.
“Your good deed for the day,” I said. “Thank you so much. Wasn’t too bad, was it?”
“No it wasn’t too bad, wasn’t too bad,” Mike Ganley, also a Bethlehem transplant from Ireland, said.
But to this field crew stuck in the snow, it meant the world.
“So, that was good,” Beck said. “Easy peasy.”