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LAPLACE ­— A Mississippi mother is searching for the good Samaritan who stopped to help her son after his truck nearly flipped over the I-55 guard rail in the early morning hours of August 31, 2023.

Nineteen-year-old Peyton Creech was traveling on I-55 South on his way to work in Houma around 2:30 a.m. when he dozed off behind the wheel. His Chevrolet Silverado veered to the right, pushing up against the guard rail of the bridge. The impact jarred him awake, and he snatched the wheel to save himself from falling over the edge. His truck slid parallel to the road on top of the concrete guard rail. When it finally stopped, it was perpendicular to the rail, with its back half hanging off the bridge 500 feet south of the intersection of I-55 and Highway 51 in LaPlace.

Creech called his parents, who instructed him to call 9-1-1 as they jumped into their car in Yazoo County, Mississippi. When Creech called back a few minutes later, he told them a woman had stopped to check on him and was sitting with him, waiting for the police to arrive.

The good Samaritan’s name was not mentioned in the crash report, and the only description Peyton Creech can recall from his panicked state was that she was an older, Black lady.

His mother, Cindy Creech, is looking for any leads to locate the woman and thank her personally.

“We live 2.5 hours away. We were headed down there, but there was no way we could get there that fast. We are extremely thankful for her, and we would like to tell her, but we don’t know anything about her,” Cindy Creech said. “It means the world to me. My baby was on the side of the road, confused, didn’t really know what to do, and everybody was passing him by. As a mother, it makes your heart feel so good to know somebody actually cared enough to stop.”

Anyone with information about the woman’s identity can reach Creech at 662-571-8398.

Creech is also thankful to God for protecting her son in a situation that could have ended much worse. His truck was the only vehicle involved in the crash, and he walked away without injuries.

“If you are one of those people that works shift work like my son does, and you have to travel in the early hours of the morning, make sure you are rested enough and you don’t get too tired. Pull over and walk around if you get sleepy,” Creech said.