Stranger steps in to help stranded Falcons fan get to Super Bowl

HOUSTON — A Falcons fan who was stranded in Atlanta when the bus she was supposed to ride on to Houston never showed up has finally made it there.

She says an angel stepped in and helped.

"You see someone that's in need you reach out," Angela McNeil told Channel 2's Tom Jones.

Nicolea Washington says McNeil was her lifesaver.

"Words can't explain. I'm almost about to cry," she said outside her hotel in Houston.

Washington is one of dozens of Falcons fans who were left stranded in Atlanta when the bus they paid to take them to Houston to cheer on the Falcons never showed up.

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"When I got to CNN Center on Wednesday and called and they told me there was no bus, I almost lost it," she said.

Washington and other fans didn't know what to do. She was out of a bus trip and a hotel room. She posted about her ordeal on a Falcons Fan page.

"I just happened to read it. I was like, 'Oh my goodness, '" McNeil said.

McNeil owns Work Hard Play Hard Transportation in Atlanta. She was taking a group of fans to Houston.

McNeil made room for one more. She offered Washington a ride. McNeil admits Washington didn't immediately trust her.

"She was like, 'I've been burned.' She was like, "Can I  just pay you when I get there?'" she said.

McNeil not only offered Washington a ride, but she also offered to share her room with the stranger.

"Because I didn't have a room. My package included a room," Washington said.

McNeil said helping Washington was the right thing to do.

"When you see someone in need and you can help them, then that's what you do," she said.

There was only one question before they finalized the deal.

"I said, 'Are you a snorer?'  I had to," McNeil said, while laughing.

"And I said yes. She was like, 'Oh. OK. We we'll just see,'" Washington said.

"I said OK. We'll just work it out,” McNeil chimed in.

And they've worked it out. The two women are becoming fast friends. Adversity has brought them together.

Carolyn "Bird Lady" Freeman, who helped organize the failed bus trip, said it was one big mix-up.

She blames the primary organizer of the trip. Freeman also said only one person asked her to arrange alternate transportation to Houston and she says she made that happen.

Cox Media Group