All it takes is a single letter to change all you thought you knew. For one woman, the pain she carried from a tragic car accident 27 years ago lessened some when she read the words that had been typed. Rebecca Anderson hadn’t realized that she needed closure until that letter arrived.

In October 1997, Anderson and her mother, Linda Wageman, were in a car driving through an intersection when another vehicle, driven by a man fleeing police, crashed into their vehicle. The women’s vehicle burst into flames after the collision. Anderson survived, but sadly her mother died at the scene.

Anderson said that her assumption was that first responders had pulled her from the burning van. The California resident said that she had blacked out and didn’t regain consciousness until later at the hospital.

A newspaper with the story about Anderson and her mother’s car accident in 1997.

But a letter, typed out meticulously on a computer, filled in details from that horrific night that Anderson did not know. Her life had been saved, thanks to the bravery of Daniel Mena, a former police officer who witnessed the tragic scene. “I went over there and saw [Anderson], dragged her into the liquor store,” Mena said. 

I tried getting the mother out, but it got too hot, I just couldn’t do it.”

He said that he had thought of her often, always wishing he knew what had happened to Anderson after the accident. “I constantly thought what happened to her afterwards?” Mena said. “Just wondering if she lived a fruitful life?” So he sent her a letter.

After Anderson learned what had happened that night, she and Mena began talking on the phone and texting, and finally were ready to meet in person. Anderson said she was nervous about the reunion, because she considered the debt of gratitude she owed Mena for saving her life. But it was necessary, Anderson said, for her to be able to thank him in person.

Rebecca Anderson cries while talking to Daniel Mena, the man who saved her from a burning car. Photo from KTLA video

I was unconscious so I don’t remember too much of what happened,” she said. The reunion was full of tears, but also of a new beginning. “Just to meet each other,” Andeson said. “And maybe find some sort of closure.” To honor Mena’s actions, Anderson wore a yellow shirt with Mena’s name, and the phrase “God Sent Me An Angel On This Day.”

“I thought that it would be special as something for me to hold onto as a memory,” she said. Anderson said she plans to give a shirt to Mena, as well. The importance of this reunion goes past just mere gratitude. It serves as a reminder that simple human kindness – stopping when Mena saw the accident – can have a huge impact on someone’s life.

As they parted ways, both Anderson and Mena expressed their intention to meet again in the future. Anderson, who finally had closure, could only marvel on how the pair got to that moment. “He saved my life that day,” she said. Watch below for a look at this heartwarming reunion!

Sources: Daily Mail | People