Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-23
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Southwest Blood Banks, Inc.
The driver had red hair,
stout body, and a grim ex-
preston. His name was Alex
ander L. Porter and his job
was to save the life Of . man
13l miles away; 4 man he had
never met.
Porter lived In Reno, New.
He was q retired United States
Army captain who had lost
his left eye. Men with one
eve are not in demand. Por-
ter worked as q blood-bank
driver for $40 an hour. He
was 81, and glad to get work.
The white car headed
northwest toward the Cali
fornia border and Beckwith
Pass. 1t was q long hard
climb, and Porter pushed the
car. He went over the few
facts he knew: q man In
Chester, Calf, had fallen
under q road-scraping ma
chine. His stomach had been
ripped. Arteries had been
torn. He was B-negative and
needed four units Of blood at
once. Emergency. Dying.
THE DOCTORS had done
what they could. Unless that
blood arrived soon, the arterial
system would collapse. In the
corridor Of the Seneca Hos
pital, a wife and children
wept and begged God for help.
Help was a one-eyed atheist,
l3l miles away.
The white car passed along
the edge Of Honey Lake. Por-
ter was halfway. He slowed
going through GAINESVILLE, and
then picked up speed for the
run to Susanville. There
were no crossroads, and very
little traffic. The car was six
miles short Of Susanville when
Porter heard a siren.
He pulled over quickly. The
policeman got out. Porter
pointed to the blood, and told
him a man was dying In
Chester. The cop wanted to
see his license. Porter said:
81 thought maybe you'd run
ahead Of me to help" The
policeman said he wasn't
sure that Capt. Porter was
doing anything except rs miles
an hour. The officer began
the slow writing Of a sum-
mons. ''You have my license"
Porter said, begging. "Check
my story at Seneca Hospital.
If I'm lying, hit me with the
book. But please let me Co."
The cop thought it over.
"okay," he said, copying the
license tag. Go" Captain
Porter spun gravel off the
shoulder and hit the highway.
Lost: 8 minutes. He made
Susanville, swung left, and
raced 50 miles to Chester.
At the hospital, a technician
grabbed the blood without a
word and hurried inside.
Porter went inside. He stood
alone, In a white coverall. Some
people were crying. He saw
a nurse on a phone. eyes,
officer" she said. Hes here
now. oh yes. It's an smer-
gency, all right. A man was
bit by a road scraper and
sure. Sure. Thanks, officer"
The stout man drove back
TO Reno slowly. Porter checked
the reports from Chester. The
patient was still alive. The
doctors felt he stood a good
chance.
Four days later, Porter got
a summons. He was to be
punished. On the proper day,
he appeared in court. Porter
stood before the Judge. They
were the only two people in
court. The judge raped a
gavel and convened court. He
fined Capt. Porter $4S.
The driver told the Judge
the story. The Judge listened
politely. "Court is recessed
for q minute" he said, and
walked to the clerks desk and
picked up q phone. He called
Susanville police. A captain
was on duty. YES" he said
to the judge. The story Is
true"
The Judge hung up. He
came back, and fined Alex
ander L. Porter $12. He said
it was the best he could do.
Porter said his company
would not pay the fine. 1t
would have to come out Of
his $1.7O an hour. The Judge
said he was sorry. The driver
paid it.
PORTER NEEDED the
money. He phoned Seneca
Hospital and asked how the
patient was doing. The man
was almost out Of danger.
Porter hesitated, then he said,
81 wonder If you would tell the
mans family that l brought
the blood from Reno. Tell
them l don't have any dough
to speak Of and l need the $12.
You might remind them that
Southwest Blood is nonprofit.
They got the four units at
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