Two stranded on Causeway Road in storm

By Beth David, Editor

A volunteer for the Fairhaven Emergency Management Agency got stuck on Causeway Road as he headed home from his volunteer plowing gig with the town. Bob Pink ended up stranded for about 10 hours, eventually getting rescued by his West Island neighbors. Mr. Pink posted on the West Island Facebook page that he was stuck at about 9 a.m. on Monday, in the thick of the worst blizzard the area has seen in decades.

At first, he waited, thinking the plows would get there eventually. One neighbor trudged through knee deep snow to give him some water. Mean­while, Mr. Pink’s wife was getting worried about the 74-year-old.

At about 3 p.m., when it became apparent that the plows were not getting there, Mr. Pink’s neighbors trudged over with shovels. Most of their pickup trucks and other four-wheel drive vehicles were no match for the snow, which had reached about two feet by then.

Matt Brodo was the first one to reach his stranded neighbor. Mr. Brodo has a plow on his pickup truck, but he got stuck just ten feet from his driveway. It is only for light duty, like small driveways, he told the Neighb News. So he walked instead, shovel in hand.

Another neighbor, Jens Ulrichsen, had a larger truck with a plow, but he had given up earlier because he got stuck. When he realized Mr. Pink was in trouble, though, he tried again, persevered, and got through. 

Eventually, several people with shovels were able to get Mr. Pink out of his truck and into Mr. Ulrichsen’s vehicle. They left Mr. Pink’s truck in the road.

Mr. Ulrichsen plowed as far as he could to Mr. Pink’s house, but the  snow was just too much when they were about a block away. Mr. Pink made it through the last block to his house on foot.

The next morning, a crew of neighbors made their way down Causeway Road and dug out Mr. Pink’s truck.

At some point in the night, it appears the town plow did make a pass on Causeway Road, but it only made one lane and did not do any side streets that night.

At the Select Board meeting on Monday, 2/23/26, Fire Chief Todd Correia mentioned that a volunteer was still stuck on the Causeway. It is unclear if anyone from the town tried to rescue Mr. Pink. Chief Correia did not elaborate at the meeting, and the Neighb News was unable to reach him by press time.

Public Works Superintendent, Vinnie Furtado, said he was aware of a vehicle on Causeway Road, but he thought it was abandoned. He said if he had realized there was a person stuck in the vehicle, they would have gone to get him out.

Town Administrator, Keith Hickey, said he had not heard of the specific incident, but, he said, he is confident that the fire department would not have left Mr. Pink stranded if they realized he was stuck inside his car.

“I know the fire chief,” said Mr. Hickey. “And I know how he operates. And he would not have left the person there for an extended period of time.”

He said even if the road was impassable, the chief would have made every effort to get the person someplace safe until he could get home.

“There’s no doubt in my mind,” said Mr. Hickey. 

Mr. Pink is not laying blame on anyone. He said it was clearly just a communication issue.

He said he thought the plow was on its way, or he would have left his vehicle earlier in the day when the snow was not as high.

He said, when he drove over the causeway, he had no visibility at all, with the wind blowing the snow sideways. That meant the road was clear, so he thought the rest of the way would be, too. But as soon as he got to the end of the causeway, he hit a huge drift and could not get out. 

“I was not able to get clear information about whether the BPW was going to be available to get me out,” he said. “And that’s why I stayed in the truck that long.”

He also noted that part of the chain of events included the BPW losing power, so calls were not going through.

He also said he told them they needed to send heavy equipment, not a regular plow truck.

“You’re going to need something bigger,” he said.

Mr. Pink was preparing to spend the night there when the neighbors showed up: Matt Brodo, Marc Dunn, Jen Ulrichsen, and a few others. They started working very hard to get him out and it gave him strength and confidence. 

When asked if he appreciated their strength, he said, “It’s not their bodies, it’s their heart and how they think and what they do. People are strong. But being strong in your heart and know­ing the right thing to do, that’s heart.”

He was very grateful to be able to get into his house. 

“It’s the much preferred solu­tion,” he said. “You always want to be at home.”

The next day, he was prepared to leave his truck right where it was. 

But…not so fast, said the neighbors.

“What they did this morning was incredible,” said Mr. Pink. “I didn’t even know they were going for the truck until they asked me if the keys were in there”

He said he is grateful to live in a place with such great neighbors who take care of each other.

“It takes an island,” said Mr. Pink.

Also on that next day, after the storm had cleared, Mr. Brodo did end up plowing his entire street, bit by bit, when it became apparent that the town plows were not getting there anytime soon. He plowed through the footprints in the snow he had made the day before.

Several other neighbors also plowed their streets, although the islanders were anxiously awaiting the arrival of town plows at press time.

Another West Island resident, Mike Andrade, also got stranded. A land­scaper who plows in the winter, Mr. Andrade was returning home from work around 8:30 p.m. when he reached the impassable Causeway Road. He made his way back to Hoppy’s Landing. That parking lot stayed pretty clear, but it seems it was from the wind. That part of the causeway was also clear, but four-foot drifts greeted drivers on the east side.

Mr. Andrade, 70, said he knew he could not walk all the way to his Dogwood Street house. He slept in his car at Hoppy’s Landing. In the morning, he was able to drive up Causeway Road, but he could not turn onto his street. He left his car as much to the side as he could and walked to his house.

When the Neighb News caught up with him, he was cleaning off his car to head back to work to get a plow to clear his street. 

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