Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego's Highwayman

Two years ago, Thomas Weller, San Diego's "Highwayman," decided not to get behind the wheel at night because he was worried he'd pose a danger on the road. Weller, who has spent the past 40 years driving his 1955 Ford wagon searching San Diego's highways for stranded motorists in need of gas or a spare tire has been waking up with a blur in his left eye.

The condition in Weller's eye has worsened. Weller is now stuck at his ranch in El Cajon when he could be out putting out car fires, changing flat tires, or putting gas in motorists' empty tanks.

Sponsored
Sponsored

This June, Weller went to an ophthalmologist to get his eye checked out, and the doctor diagnosed him with a cataract. Uninsured, the surgery to replace the damaged lens with a synthetic, crystalline lens, says Weller, will cost between $5,000 and $10,000.

Weller has two options: he can save money for the surgery so he can go back out and "play," as he likes to call it, or forego the surgery and use his money to gas up the Ford wagon — which bears an uncanny resemblance to the Ghostbusters' "Ecto-1" rig — and go back out on the road with limited visibility.

"When it was raining the other day, I usually love to go out because that's when people need my help the most. But because of the blurriness and the rain, I don't want to cause a problem...for others or myself. It was very gloomy over here."

There's defeat in Weller's voice. The loud, hearty, country-boy chuckles are rare and don't last long. The 62-year-old retired car mechanic is open about his melancholy.

"You see, I do this routinely, but I also do it to raise my spirits when I'm depressed," says Weller in a deep, southern drawl. "When I help one person, I'm no longer depressed."

Weller likes to share his stories. "I had a car fire on the westbound 8 and 163 north last week. I put the fire out...it was an air-conditioning fire. I saved the folks car for them," says Weller. "Just telling you [that has] raised my spirits."

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans

Two years ago, Thomas Weller, San Diego's "Highwayman," decided not to get behind the wheel at night because he was worried he'd pose a danger on the road. Weller, who has spent the past 40 years driving his 1955 Ford wagon searching San Diego's highways for stranded motorists in need of gas or a spare tire has been waking up with a blur in his left eye.

The condition in Weller's eye has worsened. Weller is now stuck at his ranch in El Cajon when he could be out putting out car fires, changing flat tires, or putting gas in motorists' empty tanks.

Sponsored
Sponsored

This June, Weller went to an ophthalmologist to get his eye checked out, and the doctor diagnosed him with a cataract. Uninsured, the surgery to replace the damaged lens with a synthetic, crystalline lens, says Weller, will cost between $5,000 and $10,000.

Weller has two options: he can save money for the surgery so he can go back out and "play," as he likes to call it, or forego the surgery and use his money to gas up the Ford wagon — which bears an uncanny resemblance to the Ghostbusters' "Ecto-1" rig — and go back out on the road with limited visibility.

"When it was raining the other day, I usually love to go out because that's when people need my help the most. But because of the blurriness and the rain, I don't want to cause a problem...for others or myself. It was very gloomy over here."

There's defeat in Weller's voice. The loud, hearty, country-boy chuckles are rare and don't last long. The 62-year-old retired car mechanic is open about his melancholy.

"You see, I do this routinely, but I also do it to raise my spirits when I'm depressed," says Weller in a deep, southern drawl. "When I help one person, I'm no longer depressed."

Weller likes to share his stories. "I had a car fire on the westbound 8 and 163 north last week. I put the fire out...it was an air-conditioning fire. I saved the folks car for them," says Weller. "Just telling you [that has] raised my spirits."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Second largest yellowfin tuna caught by rod and reel

Excel does it again
Next Article

San Diego Dim Sum Tour, Warwick’s Holiday Open House

Events November 24-November 27, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader