CT Guardsman ID'd As Good Samaritan After Scary Crash: Report

ORANGE, CT — A 35-year-old Shelton woman, whose vehicle hit a patch of black ice and flipped over on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Orange, has a Connecticut Guardsman to thank for helping her after she suffered a concussion.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Gilbert, a combat engineer from the Connecticut National Guard's 192nd Engineer Battalion, said he knew the second he saw the smashed vehicle on the side of the thruway that the driver could have been hurt, writes the National Guard website.

The driver, Leigh Deppe, had gotten out of her rolled over vehicle and was disoriented from the concussion, when Gilbert helped to get her back on the side of the roadway out of danger, according to News 12 Connecticut. He stayed with her until medical personnel arrived.

Gilbert, who was in his military uniform at the time, reportedly was on his way to Rentschler Field in East Hartford to assist at the coronavirus vaccination site.

Following the crash, Deppe wanted to thank Gilbert, but couldn't remember the soldier's full name. But after the News 12 report, the two reportedly were able to speak by phone.

Read the story on the National Guard website, and on the News 12 Connecticut website.