Teen’s Act of Kindness Saves The Day

“I didn’t think that this was very much of a big deal for me.”

When a woman in Saline found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place, she didn’t expect an angel to swoop in to the rescue. But that’s definitely what happened.

“Today, this young man is my hero!” LeAnne Milkey posted to a local Facebook group in late May, along with a picture of a young man changing her tire. “I was driving in Saline on N. Industrial, where a construction crew was working. As soon as I [drove around them], I heard a tire blow and only made it to Teft Park at the Saline Rec Center before it was totally flat and I was stuck.”

Struggling with her spare tire and stranded in the middle of an active construction zone, Milkey wasn’t sure what to do. “This guy came out of nowhere asking if I needed help,” she said.

Wilkey’s hero, 16-year-old Saline resident Richard Gross, doesn’t see it as any big deal. “I was pulling out of work, and I saw a woman with a flat tire, and I volunteered five minutes of my time. That’s all I did.” 

In her post, Wilkey said that when she asked his name, his response took her breath away. “I told him that was my Daddy’s name, and we lost him last year. And maybe he sent you to me because you’re definitely my hero today.” 

When STN contacted the teenager and asked what made him stop he said, “We need to be helping out each other more. You know, that’s basically just, like, a human thing.”

The skill and kindness didn’t come from nowhere, though. Richard credits his dad, Karl Gross, an engineer, with teaching him the basics. And his interests go far beyond tires. He’s currently getting scuba certified while working at a dive center in Ann Arbor and dreams of becoming an underwater welder or maybe starting a business of his own. “I like working with engines,” he said. “I’ve fixed up a few go-karts from Facebook Marketplace and sold them.”

Wilkey said that she offered Richard a small reward as a thank you, but he refused, saying he was only doing what his dad taught him, and “I’m just a good Christian and believe in helping others.” 

Wilkey promised him she would pay it forward, and he responded, “Please do!” 

Richard doesn’t want to be rewarded for his effort, but since some people felt strongly about doing something, he suggested people could donate to his sister’s upcoming wedding or perform some other random act of kindness.