89-year-old says postal worker saved her life after refrigerator fell on top of her

AKRON, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - A great-grandmother says she is alive today thanks to a postal worker coming to her rescue after a refrigerator fell on her.

A few weeks ago, 89-year-old Betty Rucker went to her fridge to get some fruit when the refrigerator came crashing down.

“I was terrified. It was coming right at me. I thought it was going to squish my head,” Rucker said. “I fell backward on the floor, and I could only smell the pickles and the olives because that’s what broke. I had that juice running down my back.”

The 89-year-old lives in her apartment alone.

She usually has home attendants with her, but the incident happened while she was waiting for her other aid to arrive.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared when I looked up and saw that freezer part coming at my face,” Rucker said.

The refrigerator ended up pinning her underneath. She was unable to move, and she started screaming for help.

“I could scream pretty loud, and when you’re more scared, you yell louder,” she said.

Thankfully, a Postal Service worker delivering the mail nearby heard her cries.

“He came through the door saying, ‘Honey, I’m coming to help you,’” Rucker said.

The mailman picked up the refrigerator, and Rucker said he got her out from underneath it.

According to Rucker, he stayed with her until paramedics arrived.

“I would have been more nervous and scared without him there,” she said.

The great-grandmother said the fridge may have fallen on her because she put her weight on the door when trying to get an item out, and then the refrigerator tipped forward and fell on her.

The refrigerator remains in her apartment, but it has since been secured.

Rucker said she spent a few days at the Cleveland Clinic after the incident, along with some rehab treatments. But she managed to escape the ordeal without any serious injuries.

Her family couldn’t be more grateful.

Rucker said she hopes the postal worker knows how thankful she is for his help.

“I thank you with all my heart. I appreciate what he did for me, and the kids did write him a letter to thank him,” Rucker said. “I thought I might make him a cake but he deserves more than I can ever give him.”

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