When AAA Northeast roadside technician Kenny DiPina responded to a call for a flat tire from a member in Rhode Island, he never expected to be featured in a newspaper article.
To DiPina, it was just business as usual. But to Providence Journal columnist Mark Patinkin, it was service worthy of widespread gratitude.
Patinkin, a AAA member for more than 20 years, was so impressed by DiPina’s calm demeanor and swift action that he wrote about the encounter in his weekly column. He shared the full story on Facebook. Providence Journal subscribers can also read the story here.
The story unfolded just as he wrote, Patinkin said. He was driving through a Providence neighborhood when he hit a sharp curb that ripped apart his tire.
“Thump. Flat,” Patinkin recounted.
He called AAA. The member service counselor asked if he had a spare tire, an easy replacement that would get him back on the road quickly. He told them yes. But when he looked in his 2026 Honda CR-V Hybrid, all he found was “just one of those useless inflator kits,” he said.
Now he needed a tow, and he was told it would be about an hour.
“Then Kenny arrives early. Calm, upbeat, reassuring,” Patinkin said. “He tells me he won’t leave me stranded. He finds a nearby tire shop with a matching used tire for $65, loads my car and gets me there fast.”
And just like that, a bad day turned into a good one.
Before leaving, DiPina asked if Patinkin was OK
“I am. Because of him,” Patinkin wrote.
In the four years DiPina has been a technician for AAA, he has treated every member the same way.
“It’s super nice to engage with someone the way I engage with everyone every day and have them feel like it was special,” DiPina said.
But not everyone is like Patinkin.
“Not every person I get is a journalist,” DiPina said. “Otherwise, how would I know how much of a difference I made without his article?”
DiPina appreciated the recognition and reflected on the bigger picture.
“I think we (AAA) make a big difference in how breakdowns go,” he said. “This is like the worst moment for some people, and you’re going to remember this for the rest of your life.”
As Patinkin expressed, these efforts should not go unnoticed.
“We take for granted the people who show up when our day suddenly collapses,” Patinkin wrote, closing with “Thank goodness for the Kenny DiPinas among us.”
For more stories like this — or to share your own — visit “Hey, AAA!,” our collection of member-submitted emails, photos and videos that capture the real moments AAA has been a part of.
Photo credit: Mark Patinkin; Courtesy of the Providence Journal.
Ellen is a content producer for AAA Northeast, covering automotive, finance, public affairs and electric vehicle news. She is a former newspaper reporter with experience writing for print and online publications about everything from higher education to sustainability. She recently returned to her native Long Island after living in Connecticut for 20-plus years, and has never met a beach she didn’t like.
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