Traveling in harsh weather is risky. Sharon Howe-Sweeting found that out the hard way on Thursday.

Thankfully, the village of Fredonia came through for her when she needed them most.

“I’ve never met so many wonderful people in my whole entire life,” Howe-Sweeting said.

Howe-Sweeting, 81, traveled from her residence — a retirement community in Gerry — on Thursday to mail packages to her family living out of state. She has always had a good experience mailing packages through Box Mania on Vineyard Drive in Dunkirk, so she decided to make the trip. But then, the weather worsened.

“I’ve never done anything so stupid,” she said.

Upon leaving the shop, Howe-Sweeting saw nothing but a white sheet of snow. She followed the tail lights of a truck ahead of her as she traveled along Central Avenue. Then, she missed a turn on her way to Route 60 and continued on before sliding off the road and ending up in a ditch.

As Howe-Sweeting was stranded on the side of the road, a utility worker spotted her vehicle and stopped to help. The worker called the Fredonia Police Department who came to assist.

Two police officers arrived to help Howe-Sweeting out of her vehicle. They asked if she had any family nearby, but her closest relatives live in Cherry Creek. Howe-Sweeting has lived alone for more than a decade since her husband died in a car accident.

“I’ve always lived on my own. I haven’t had that many people to support me,” Howe-Sweeting said. “… I’m 81 years old, I’m not used to having people help me.”

While Fredonia Police figured out a plan for what to do next, they brought Howe-Sweeting to the police station to sit in the office and stay warm. The officers then formulated a plan to take her to Fredonia Place.

Howe-Sweeting had lunch at Fredonia Place. Staff told her she was welcome there as long as she needed.

“The people there were absolutely fabulous to me,” Howe-Sweeting said.

While Howe-Sweeting waited in the warmth with a nice meal, Mancuso worked to pull her car out of the ditch. Mancuso’s brought her vehicle to Fredonia Place so she could drive home to Gerry. She made it home Thursday evening.

“When I got home, I just fell to pieces because everybody was so wonderful,” Howe-Sweeting said.