THE BAD SAMARITAN

A Good Samaritan tried to help a western New York man in distress. The 58-year-old man’s foot got stuck under his riding mower last week as he mowed a sloped lawn near an embankment in the town of Genesee Falls. His cries for help were heard by 31-year-old Christopher Ratcliffe, who had stopped at a nearby gas station. Ratcliffe tied a rope from his vehicle to the mower. But instead of backing up, Ratcliffe went forward, causing the trapped man, the mower and Ratcliff’s vehicle to go over the 12-foot-high embankment. The mower landed on the man, but he escaped with minor injuries. Ratcliffe was ticketed for driving a vehicle that was uninsured, uninspected and unregistered.
* Sometimes it isn’t the thought that counts.
* Look, he got the guy’s foot free, didn’t he?
* Wait – his foot got stuck under the mower he was riding? That’s pretty flexible for a 58-year-old.
* What a shame. Ratcliff took them all over the cliff.
* You know the sad thing? The guy still has to get back out there and finish the lawn this weekend.
* When your lawn has a slope this extreme, the proper gardening response is, “Screw it.”
* Sure, this was bad, and it didn’t stop there: After they went over the 12 foot embankment they started a rock slide that threatened a dam.
* Then the dam burst and took out the entire town below.
* PHONE TOPIC: I tried to help, but I just made things worse.