California Highway Patrol Officer Chance Clark had assisted a lot of motorists during his 18 years on the force, but he had never opened his house up to a stranded family — until Saturday night.

The Redding man said it didn’t matter that the woman, Natasha Manning-Redmond, her husband and their eight children are Black and he is white.

Clark said that what did matter was that it was the right thing to do, regardless of race.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re Black. It doesn’t matter if I’m white. I don’t care if they’re green. It was the human thing to do,” Clark said Sunday.

But to Joe Mannings, what happened Saturday night alongsie Interstate 5 in Redding had profound significance for a country convulsed by racial strife over the relationship between police and people of color.

Clark said he was reluctant to have the gesture publicized in the media, but Mannings said he felt it was too important not to share the story.

“I understand that, but America needs this,” said Mannings, who is Manning-Redmonds’ uncle. “Just think about the maginificence of the thing.”

Manning-Redmond, her husband Garrett Redmond and their eight children were driving down Interstate 5 frrom Tacoma, Washington, on Saturday to White Sands, New Mexico, when one of the wheels on Manning-Redmond’s Chevy Tahoe broke near the Oasis Avenue exit in north Redding.

The wheel also apparently damaged the brakes on the vehicle, rendering the SUV inoperable until it was fixed, she said.

Manning-Redmond said she was able to get the SUV onto the off-ramp, but it needed to be towed from there. Manning-Redmond was also towing a U-haul trailer and her husband was driving a large box truck and towing the family car.

It was around 8 p.m., and most auto repair shops were closed, so they decided to tow the car and spend the night in Redding.

However, they couldn’t to find a hotel room in the Redding area. All of them were booked up. Manning said they called at least 20 hotels but had no luck.

After 3 hours on the side of the road with eight children, Manning-Redmond was reaching her wits end.

She thought she might have to spend the night in a shelter, but at that point Clark said he was faced with only one choice  — even if it was a bit unorthodox.

Clark said they seemed like a nice family, and he had a big house with a large spare room where Manning-Redmond and her family could stay. He also lives less than 10 minutes from where they had broken down

The fact that Manning-Redmond was serving her country as a sergeant and is a chaplain in the Army also influenced his decision to help them. Clark said he was also concerned for their children.

“I thought, these babies need to go to bed,” Clark said. “I didn’t have a choice. It was just so simple. How could I not offer?”

Manning-Redmond said she was taken aback by the gesture.

“Who does that? I’m a black female, and I have black sons. And we’ve already had that conversation, and to see this cop, this caucasian cop say ‘No, my home is your home, whatever you need is here,'” she said.

So Manning-Redmond had her vehicle and trailer towed to Clark’s house.

Clark said a friend recently gave him a bunch of fresh eggs, so Sunday morning when the family woke up he and his wife, Brenda, also treated all 10 of them to breakfast.

Manning-Redmond and her family have a long road ahead of them, though. She still has to get to New Mexico, so she plans to get her vehicle into the shop to be repaired on Monday.

But for the night, at least she and her family had a place to stay, she said.

“I’m very grateful because I didn’t know where we were going to go,” she said.

Damon Arthur is the Record Searchlight’s resources and environment reporter.