Stranded in Idaho, a family finds unexpected kindness

The tow truck pulled away from the Valley View Chevron in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, leaving the Waterford family standing in the rain with all their luggage. Malissa; her husband, Jason; and their 17-year-old daughter, Ella, were shaken. His arm was injured. And they had a flight to catch soon.

Hours earlier, their rental car had been hit head-on by a vehicle that spun out on a snowy mountain pass. Both cars were totaled. Everyone walked away, but the Waterfords were stranded in a place they didn't know, more than 40 miles from the Boise airport and more than half a continent away from their home in Bloomington, Indiana.

"When we got to the gas station, it was still just a lot of panic and uncertainty," recalled Malissa. "As that adrenaline began to wear off, we began to realize how much physical pain all of us were in."