'AITA for abandoning woman in freezing cold after she insulted me while I helped in restarting her car?'

Sometimes no good deed goes unpunished, and this story from Reddit’s infamous 'Am I The A**hole' forum is living proof.

A woman shared her tale of trying to help a fellow motorist, only to be met with insults and an attitude that pushed her to leave the person stranded.

A freezing morning and an ungrateful stranger

The OP (original poster) kicked off her post by painting the scene: “So, this morning was freezing, like 12 degrees with a brutal wind chill. I was heading to work when I noticed a woman standing next to her car with its hood up in the grocery store parking lot. She was waving her arms at passing cars, clearly in distress.”

Like a true good Samaritan, OP pulled over to help. She made it clear she wasn’t a car expert but knew how to jump a battery. She added, “As a note, I'm a woman as well.”

But things went south fast: "I pulled over, rolled down my window, and asked if she needed a jump. She immediately came over to my car and started going off, saying, 'Finally! What took you so long? Are you blind? I’ve been stuck here forever!'" 

OP brushed it off, got out her jumper cables, and started working. Meanwhile, the woman barely acknowledged her and continued scrolling on her phone instead. When the car didn’t start immediately, OP explained that the battery might need a few minutes to charge. That’s when the insults began.

“She goes, ‘Are you even doing this right? What’s the point of stopping if you’re just wasting my time?’” OP recalled. "I tried to stay calm and suggested she be patient," she said, but the woman wasn’t having it. 

Instead, she looked at OP’s car and sneered: “Figures, you drive a piece of junk and you’re trying to help me. I should’ve waited for someone who actually knows what they’re doing, like a man.’” 

At this point, OP’s patience ran out. "I was done. I unhooked the cables, packed everything up, and started walking back to my car. She shouted, 'Where are you going? You can’t just leave me here!' I turned around and said, 'Watch me,' and got in my car to drive off. As I left, she threw her coffee cup at my car and cursed me out."

After recounting her story, OP asked Reddit whether she was in the wrong for leaving the woman stranded.

"So, AITA for walking away and leaving her stranded? I feel like I was just trying to help, but her attitude was completely uncalled for. Plus, it admittedly is unsafe for a woman to be stuck somewhere with car troubles. My friend said I should have helped her because of "girl code", but I think she broke girl code first," she concluded.

The Internet says OP is NTA

Reddit’s verdict was overwhelmingly NTA (not the a-hole). Many applauded OP’s self-restraint, saying they wouldn’t have lasted as long under such treatment.

“You stayed far too long. I would have driven off the moment she opened her mouth to say, ‘Finally!’ You are clearly NTA in this situation,” one declared.

"She completely disrespected you while you were trying to help. You didn’t deserve to be treated that way, especially after offering help in freezing weather. It’s not about “girl code,” it’s about basic decency. If she had been nicer, maybe you would’ve stayed and helped more. But she pushed you too far. 🙄," a second Redditor added.

"Nope, you stayed much longer than I would have! I would have gotten in my "piece of junk" with the WORKING BATTERY and left the minute she started with her crap," another wrote.

Some Redditors couldn’t believe the stranded woman’s audacity.

"This cant be real. Like for real? Someone can be that ungrateful and that abusive to a complete stranger? Why would even question ur actions NTA," someone else offered.

"NTA. You tried to help, and she was rude and ungrateful, no one deserves to be treated like that, especially when you're going out of your way to be kind," read a comment.

"NTA. You didn't leave her stranded. She had a phone. She could have called a professional and paid them," another chimed in.

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