NORTHUMBERLAND -- It was an ordeal that quickly grabbed the attention of our area and the entire country. A woman from Ohio was driving with her family through Union County when her car was hit by a rock that was thrown from an overpass.
What many people don't know is how much support the Budd family found behind the scenes in the central Pennsylvania area, and in particular, two men from Northumberland.
They say our lives can change in an instant, and one family who knows that all too well is the Budd family from Ohio.
Sharon, her husband Randy, and their daughter Kaylee were driving through Union County when police believe four teenagers threw a rock off an overpass, hitting Sharon in the face. Doctors did not know if she would recover.
It turns out the Budds' destiny brought them to the Danville area with no friends or family.
"We were in hotels. The hotel bills were mounting, so we knew we had to get an apartment on a short-term lease or something," said Sharon's husband Randy Budd.
When two men from Northumberland found out the Budds were staying in a hotel, they opened up their doors to the family from Ohio.
This is where Ron Frost and Jeff Farrow of Northumberland come in. The two businessmen were watching TV and saw the Budd family's story on Newswatch 16.
"As soon as we saw this man come on and he was crying, it just grabbed a hold of me. I didn't even know what was going on. And as we were listening, we found out there was this horrible, horrible accident that was in our area," Farrow said.
"We decided to call Geisinger. Jeff actually called Geisinger and gave them our name and our number and told them if they needed a place to stay, we would love to come have them stay with us," added Frost.
Frost and Farrow have a guest house and offered it to the Budd family.
"We could see the hurt. He had no hope at all because he didn't know what was going to happen with Sharon," said Frost.
Ron and Jeff wound not take any money from the Budd family for staying in their guest house, but instead, they did ask for one thing.
"The only thing you have to do is walk on the beach in Delaware with us with Sharon one year from July 17," Randy Budd recalled.
"And that's where our friendship started to happen," Frost added.
Just like that, Randy says his family's stay in Pennsylvania changed for the better.
"They have totally dedicated their lives to help us."
But Ron and Jeff are quick to say it's not just the two of them that made the Budd's stay easier.
"The community was unbelievable. Food, money, gift cards, all kinds of things were given to us to give to them," Farrow said.
With the community's help, Ron and Jeff held "Sharon Budd Day" on October 3. They sold t-shirts and teddy bears to raise money for their new friends.
"By the time this was all done, we were able to raise $22,500 for them," said Frost.
They all went from strangers to friends to family in an instant.
"They will be our friends forever," Budd said.
"Forever, forever," added Farrow.
"I feel that we're always going to remain close to them. They're family to us," said Frost.
Randy's brother wrote Ron and Jeff a song which they have framed in their guest house. It's called "Angels."
"When things are at their worst, just take a look around, and just thank God for sending these angels down," Frost said.
Ron and Jeff say they talk to the Budd family almost daily and plan to visit them in Ohio.
