CAMPBELL — At the end of a grueling 12-hour shift cleaning up the aftermath of winter storm Izzy, a street department worker swooped in and saved the day, and possibly the life, of a stranded man.

Tom “Rip” Repasky of Campbell found himself stuck on Hamrock Drive after trying to navigate the hills of Campbell early Monday morning while driving to a dialysis appointment.

Repasky refers to himself as the “$30 million man” due to the host of surgeries and treatments he has had for a variety of health issues. He started dialysis in 2006 when his kidneys failed and has to keep up with his appointments weekly.

He set out for Boardman at 4:30 a.m. and was still in Campbell at 7 a.m. when street department truck driver Stephan “Beaker” Elash drove by with his plow.

“I finally flagged down a city truck, and it was Beaker Elash. He tried to get me up the hill twice, but couldn’t do it,” Repasky said, addressing council during its Wednesday meeting.

Repasky came to the meeting to give a “shout-out” to the Good Samaritan for taking him home when he started to become weak as his blood pressure dropped.

“On dialysis, you get weak, your blood pressure goes below 100 and then you’re gonna pass out,” Repasky said. “He actually saved my life — my phone went out, I couldn’t call anyone. Without him, I might still be out on that road.”

While Repasky called Elash’s actions life-saving, for Elash, it was another day on the job.

“If we see someone struggling, we’re going to help them out. That’s part of the job,” Elash said.

Mayor Bryan Tedesco also praised Elash for his actions during the council meeting, and commended the entire street department for its diligence in cleaning up the city’s streets.

“You guys did a great job, and one of your employees really did something very fantastic. I want to take my hat off to him,” Tedesco said. “That’s what our department is about, caring about the citizens of Campbell.”

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