Dowagiac’s David Stark is still not sure what caused him to take the scenic route on a late-night journey to his friend’s home last week — but he is glad he did.

The construction worker’s jaunt during early morning hours last Thursday resulted in him stumbling upon a local teenage girl in need, who he found passed out in a grassy lot near Hill Street. In spite of having no experience in emergency care, Stark did the only thing that came natural to him, which was to pick up the teenager, place her over his shoulders and find someone who could help her.

Whether it was fate or just a stroke of blind luck, Stark’s spur of the moment decision helped someone who was in dire need of a helping hand.

“I don’t know if it was because of God’s grace alone that I took that route or not,” Stark said. “But that is what I keeping coming back to.”

Stark, a 27-year-old man who was born and raised in Dowagiac, returned to his hometown last spring after living in the Kalamazoo area for the last several years. His job as a construction contractor takes him throughout the region, and often results in him returning home late at night.

Last Wednesday was one of those late nights.

At 3:30 a.m., the local construction worker decided to walk from his home on Cross Street to his friend’s residence on Riverside Drive, where he was helping take care of his buddy’s dogs while the other man was out of town. Stark was having issues sleeping, and, having received a call from his friend’s neighbor earlier in the evening that the man’s dogs were acting up, decided to make the long trek across town on foot, as he does not vehicle at the moment.

Instead of taking his usual route across town, Stark decided to cut through Front Street and take High Street instead, as he wanted to pass by one of his favorite fishing spots along the Dowagiac Creek, he said.

It was there, near the bottom of Hill Street, where he noticed a pair of shoes sticking out of the long grass in a nearby field. Walking over to investigate, he soon discovered a teenager who was passed out and barely breathing, he said. In spite of his panic, Stark immediately leapt into action to figure out a way to help her.

“I don’t like living with ‘what ifs,’” he said. “That situation could have gone a million different ways, so I wanted to make sure I did everything I could to ensure she came out of it OK.”

He approached the young woman and told her he lived nearby and was going to try and get her some help, though she was largely unresponsive to what he was saying, he said. Unfortunately, he did not have cell phone on him at the time, prompting him to grab her, and try and take her to safety.

After carrying her around 50 yards, he noticed a nearby house that had its porch lights on, with a running vehicle in the driveway. He placed her down and approached a group of people who were gathered outside, asking them to call 911 and help him take care of the girl.

Police and paramedics arrived shortly thereafter, and took the victim under their care.

The Dowagiac man later received a “thank-you” from the girl’s family for his actions that night, he said.

In spite of his heroism, Stark said he is not sharing his story with others in order to receive praise, but to remind others that there is no virtue in simply standing by while others are in danger.

“If someone needs help, don’t hesitate,” he said. “Reach out and find out how you can help.”