24-12-07, 12:59
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Someone had the Christmas Spirit!!!  
Quote:
December 24, 2007
A Christmas miracle
Couple stranded by Hwy. 401 truck fire given $400 by stranger
By PETE FISHER, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA
Levi Urman and Katie Hall have a message for the stranger who stopped to help after their Ottawa-bound pickup burst into flames on Hwy. 401 yesterday and then gave them cash: "Thank you very much. The thought that took him to the point of giving us that gift goes well beyond the money to both of us." (Pete Fisher/Sun Media)
COBOURG -- An east coast couple travelling to Ottawa met a Christmas angel at the side of Hwy. 401 after their vehicle was destroyed by fire yesterday.
Levi Urman, 30, and Katie Hall, 27, had flown into Toronto from Prince Edward Island and were heading eastbound in a 2006 pickup truck owned by Urman's father.
It was to be a surprise Christmas visit to Hall's parents, who haven't seen their daughter in three years.
But the yuletide trek came to a sudden end when Hall looked out the back window and saw the truck was on fire.
"I looked back and thought at first it was an emergency vehicle because of the flashing light and then all of a sudden I thought, 'Oh my God, we're on fire', " Hall said.
With flames quickly spreading, Urman cut across traffic and pulled over just east of the Burnham St. exit at Cobourg.
The couple only had time to get their two suitcases out of the vehicle before flames engulfed the truck.
"We figured our clothes and personal items were more important than the Christmas presents at that point," Hall said.
A stranger pulled over to help but without a fire extinguisher, the truck -- and presents -- were destroyed, as were the couple's identification and credit cards.
As firefighters finished extinguishing the fire and cooling hot spots, the stranger returned and tapped on the window of the police cruiser in which the couple was sitting.
"He came up to the side of the vehicle and went to shake my hand and I realized there was something in it," said Urman. His only words were, "I hope this will help."
Urman looked at his hand a saw a roll of cash, $400 in all.
The couple tried to stop the stranger to thank him, but he got in his vehicle and left with his family. "We were already in shock (with the fire), but that was the biggest shock of the day," said Urman.
"A little bit of human spirit came through."
To the unknown man, they had this message: "Thank you very much. The thought that took him to the point of giving us that gift goes well beyond the money to both of us."
"We would have been in a tough time without that extra help and the emotional support that showed."
The couple was scheduled to fly to Ottawa last night to deliver their Christmas surprise to Hall's parents.
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