Dr. Nada Owusu of Virginia took to her Facebook page Friday to give praise and thanks to a state trooper who came to her son’s rescue when his tires blew out and left him stranded on the side of a road for many hours, WTVR reports.
The pediatrician’s 20-year-old son, Joseph Owusu, a student at Virginia Tech University, was driving home last week from school late at night when he got a flat tire. In a Facebook message posted Friday, Nada Owusu described how State Trooper Matt Okes came to her son’s aid and stayed with him until the matter was resolved.
“Facebook friends, join be [sic] in expressing my gratitude to God and to Officer Okes, Matt, a Virginia State Police officer. I took this picture at 2 [a.m.] in the middle of nowhere. My son had his back tire blown off his car last night on his way home from [s]chool,” Nada Owusu’s post read.
Okes positioned his patrol car in such a way as to ensure that other drivers and truckers were aware of Joseph Owusu's car trouble and would not injure him.
Nada Owusu went on to say that Okes could have racially profiled her son, since he is a young black man who was driving an expensive car, but instead, she says, Okes was super helpful about getting her son the help he needed, even getting down on his knees to tend to the flattened tire.
“This kind officer approached him [and] didn’t ask if the little Mercedes was stolen, but rather got on his knees to replace his tire. When his effort failed, he stayed with my son all night till we arrived at 1 [a.m.] with triple A,” Nada Owusu continued in her post.
When Nada Owusu got to the scene, she took a photo of Okes and her son, which she uploaded to appear alongside her Facebook post. She went on to say how grateful she is to Okes for staying with her and her son until they were well on their way. Okes even trailed behind them until they reached their exit.
“He provided all the needed protection especially from those tractor trailers till we were done by 2 [a.m.] and [s]till drove behind us for a while before exiting. Today I salute officer Okes! He is our hero and our ‘Good Samaritan,’” her post read.
Facebook friends, join be in expressing my gratitude to God and to Officer Okes, Matt a Virginia State Police officer. I…
Posted by Nada Owusu on Friday, May 15, 2015
Nada Owusu’s Facebook post has been shared more than 23,000 times.
She also referenced the tension between law enforcement and working-class communities and said that not all cops are bad.
“As far as I was concerned, there was a good person waiting with my son. I didn’t care if he was green, blue, yellow,” Nada Owusu said. “There’s a lot of good in America and that needs to be heard. Police need our support.”
Read more at WTVR.