Feeling sorry for the old lady walking in the hot sun, the kind driver gave her a ride, but 10 minutes later, the most terrible thing happened. On a scorching summer afternoon in Texas, the asphalt seemed to melt under the relentless sun. Jack, a truck driver heading back to his hometown after delivering goods from Dallas, turned his air conditioner to full blast, but the heat still clung to him.
As the traffic on the highway gradually thinned, the only sounds were the hum of the engine and the wind whistling through the cracks in the door.
Then, off in the distance, Jack spotted an elderly woman in her 70s, bent with age, wearing a faded straw hat, and carrying a heavy cloth bag. Her slow, weary steps suggested she was exhausted.
Jack slowed his truck and pulled over:
“Ma’am, it’s so hot, why are you walking alone? Get in the car, I’ll give you a ride to cool off.”
The woman hesitated, then nodded, her eyes gleaming with gratitude.
Jack stepped out to help her into the truck cabin, where the cool air conditioning offered immediate relief.
As they drove, the old woman explained that she had just gotten off the bus and had been left nearly three miles from home. Not wanting to bother anyone, she’d planned to walk. Jack smiled, happy he could help.
Less than ten minutes later, as they passed a stretch of deserted road, the woman suddenly wrinkled her brow, sniffed the air, and said:
“Sir, I smell a burning smell… like… burning wire or rubber or something.”
Jack was startled for a moment.
His nose was used to the smell of engine oil, but there was indeed a strange smell. He quickly slowed down, pulled the car to the side, opened the door, and got out to check.
As he stepped outside, he noticed thin smoke rising from the left rear tire. He leaned closer and saw that the tire was dangerously overheated and blistering.
Just a few more miles of high-speed driving could have caused it to explode.
Additionally, an electric wire had been rubbing against the frame, its insulation burned away, almost touching the metal and ready to spark. If the woman hadn’t mentioned the smell, Jack would have continued on to the small pass ahead—one with steep, sharp turns. A tire explosion or short-circuit could have had disastrous consequences.
He breathed a sigh of relief, still shaken:
“Ma’am… luckily you smelled it.
The story doesn’t end here –
it continues on the next page.
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