After a motorist who got stranded in the deadly winter storm in upstate New York found a safe place to ride it out, he went to great lengths to lead dozens of others to it, too, in what officials are hailing as a lifesaving and heroic rescue effort.

Jay Withey, 27, of Kenmore, New York, made sure 24 people who were stuck on the side of the road during the brutal storm got out of harm’s way, police said.

The blizzard stranded Withey in Cheektowaga, just east of Buffalo, on Friday. When he started running low on fuel Saturday morning, he decided to leave his car and head for Pine Hill School, where he broke a window so he could get inside.

But he didn’t stay inside long. He soon set back outside, looking for other stranded motorists he could direct to the school.

[Don’t miss this story. It’s incredible, right down to the note he left. Fortunately, he survived the storm too. — Ed]