With rescues of millions of stranded motorists for more than 115 years, AAA decided it was time to capture some of the incredible stories from its network of service providers and honor one outstanding contractor in a big way.
AAA National and Ford Motor Company officials are in Oklahoma to present the 2018 “Real Heroes of the Road” award. Two humble brothers from Lawton, Kenneth and Paul Priest will be honored and receive a 2019 Ford F250 truck, courtesy of Ford Motor Company. They say they are simply carrying on their father’s legacy of compassion for people in dire situations through the family towing service.
2018 “Real Heroes of the Road” award-winning story:
December 26, 2016, the Priest Brothers Wrecker Service got a call about an older man at an Elgin gas station that became their moment memorable roadside experience. The wrecker driver determined that the member was very confused and couldn’t tell him how he got there, where he was from, or where he was going and was likely suffering from dementia.
The man had only a AAA card (from Texas) listing his name, Paul Matthaus, and his wallet with no other identification. The drivers called Elgin police but were told there were no Silver Alerts in the state. They said if the man were brought to them, he would need to be put in a cell until they could find out where he belonged. The Priest Brothers weren’t ok with that. They brought the man, his truck to their shop in Lawton and began to unravel the mystery while trying to keep the often-agitated man calm.
Matthaus kept mentioning that he wanted to go to Krum. So Kenneth Priest searched online for the name in Krum, Texas. He found a promising listing and phone number, so he called it. Matthaus’ wife Becky answered, expecting to hear that her husband had been found dead. When she learned he had been found safe, she was thrilled. There was a silver alert out for him in Texas as he had left his home Christmas morning and had not been seen since.
Paul Priest talked with Becky and the decision was made to meet about half way at a restaurant south of Wichita Falls to return Matthaus to her care.She could not believe that the busy wrecker drivers would go to all that trouble to safely deliver him to her.
“It was an eventful trip with Mr. Matthaus to say the least,” Paul Priest said. “During the trip, some agitation came about, but mostly conversation. He was very confused about present time happenings but talked and recalled a lot about childhood and early events.”
Arrived at the restaurant before Becky, so Paul Priest ordered Mr. Matthaus food while they waited. “He couldn’t remember if he was married or not, but when I asked him who ‘Becky’ was his eyes lit up and he said with great expression ‘Becky’,” Paul Priest said. As soon as Becky arrived, Mr. Matthaus recognized her and Paul Priest helped him into her van. He laid down in the back seat and went right to sleep.
While he slept, Becky gave Paul Priest some insight into Mr. Matthaus’ life. She said he was a remarkable and talented man – a German who climbed the Berlin wall to escape. He came to the United States at the age of 31 and was a custom welder for Boeing and a metals designer. She said he was 76 years old and had a heart condition.
The Priest Brothers have kept in touch with Becky through occasional cards and calls. She said it is beyond her thinking that someone would go to those lengths to do what the Priest Brothers did and not charge anything. The couple was able to share two “bonus” years until Matthaus passed away on November 28.
“All we can say is it was the right thing to do,” Paul Priest said. “If you look at where Krum is – near Denton Texas – and map it to Elgin, you’ll see there’s no logical explanation of how Mr. Matthaus got there. It’s God that put us there to help him and reunite that family.
“I tell our guys who come to work with us that they have a chance to be a hero every day for someone,” said Paul Priest. “Our father received an award that bears his name from AAA here in Oklahoma for outstanding customer service, so he would be proud of us for this honor today.”
AAA Oklahoma tow truck operators like the Priest Brothers provided responses to 233,988 calls for roadside assistance in 2017.