Andrew Lauda Used Navy Training to Help Wife, Infant Survive Storm in Car
Andrew Lauda and his family were trapped for more than eight hours in the snow.
Dec. 27, 2010 — -- Navy Officer Andrew Lauda, on leave from patrolling for pirates off the Somali coast, sent out an SOS today when he and his young family became trapped on a blizzard-bound New York highway for more than eight hours.
Lauda had been home from his deployment with the Navy in Africa for just four days when he got stuck with his wife Kristen and their 3-month-old son on their way to grandma's house.
"We left our house in Norfolk, Va., at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. We got stuck on the Long Island Expressway at about 1 a.m.," said Lauda. "So that's about 18 hours."
"We just got stuck in the snow, we couldn't move," said Lauda, 21.
The Navy officer, who first met his son when he returned home on Dec. 3, rationed the family's meager food until they were down to crackers. He then called ABC News' affiliate WABC to tell the station they were trapped and needed help.
WABC aired Lauda's interview and it was heard by Carlos Calderon in nearby Queens, N.Y.
"I was watching the news and heard [Lauda's] story about being stranded and I told my wife, 'You know what, I'm going to try to help them," said Calderon, a Manhattan building manager.
Calderon said it was Lauda's mention of his young son that really motivated him to go help.
"That baby, it got me," he said.
By the time Calderon reached Lauda and his family, they had sought shelter in a nearby bus that was also stuck and still had enough gas to run the heat.
Lauda said he used his Navy training to help his family make it through the experience, which he admitted was "tough," especially with an infant.
Navy Officer, Wife and Infant Son Stuck for Hours in Blizzard
"We tried to get him to sleep and keep him fed," said Lauda of his son, Christopher.
"We had enough food for him, and my wife and I had gotten fast food earlier on Sunday, but eventually we just had crackers," he said.
"I was able to know how to ration them to keep them where they aren't hungry and starving, but OK. It wasn't a gourmet meal," he joked.
"My training helps keep you calm and level headed about what you're doing to do next," he said. "But some things you can't combat and you have to just tough out."
Lauda said he was able to stay awake and tried to dig out the car, but was unable to get if moving again.
Calderon arrived like the cavalry and took Lauda and his family on to grandma's house, another 20 minutes away.
"I'm not a hero, I am just a regular guy," Calderon said.
There was one upside to the journey, Lauda said, that without the snow should have only taken about seven hours.
"I haven't seen my wife in six and a half months, so we had a lot of time to talk and catch up," said Lauda.