NEWBERRY, SC (WIS) -
Just like Tuesday night, it was dark and stormy last year when two co-workers riding through Newberry heard a call for help.
Brenda Sutcliffe and Bryan Cramer answered that call, and found a wrecked semi nearly 30 yards from the road. That's when they found the driver and called 911.
"I thought he was underneath the truck until he yelled again and I looked straight up, and he was dripping blood on my shirt," Cramer said.
It's been a little more than a year since Cramer discovered Roger Bourassa pinned inside the cab of his tractor trailer.
A bad storm knocked the veteran trucker 30 yards off the road, but somehow Cramer and his coworker heard the cries for help.
"As far down as I was, I could've laid their for days or weeks before anyone found me," Bourassa said.
"I never heard anything about him," Cramer said. "We never knew his name."
Cramer tried to learn more about the man he'd saved, but privacy laws stood in his way. Bourassa had no memory of the crash, much less the man who'd rushed to his side.
"Trying to find somebody you don't know, don't know what they look like, you don't go trying to find something you can't find," Bourassa said.
Months went by and Bourassa recovered.
On Friday, in the waiting room of one of his last doctor's appointments, he found himself sitting next to the man he'd unknowingly met -- a year before. They struck up a conversation and the pieces fell into place.
"The hairs were standing up on my neck," Cramer said, "chill bumps were coming all over me. I was so astounded."
"What are the chances? I mean the chances of finding a needle in a haystack are probably better than us bumping into each other," Bourassa said.
As the new friends catch up, they're asking why. Why they crossed paths a year ago and why they just happened to run into each other now.
"I look at it as a prayer that was answered," Cramer said. "Because we did pray for him. And this is the way God is showing us this is a prayer answered."
"The man upstairs thought it was time," Bourassa said. "The chances of the same hospital, same lab."
It's as unlikely as hearing a cry for help over the sound of traffic and driving rain. They are encounters these two hope don't go unnoticed.
"I hope it's an inspiration to people out there to see that things do happen for a reason," Cramer said. "It may come full circle but there's a reason for that."
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Bryan Cramer & Roger Bourassa
