Route 6, the road they call Help Road

Illinois · United States · Road

A stretch of road near Ottawa, Illinois named for a single word a dying man is said to have written across it.

The road runs off Route 6 near Ottawa, Illinois, narrow with deep ditches on either side, which is why so few people used it. The story is set in the 1980s and begins at a biker bar further along the highway.

A man and his wife had been drinking and decided to ride home the short way. On a curve he was travelling too fast, and the motorcycle threw them both into the ditch. She was killed on impact. He was paralysed from the waist down and bleeding, and he understood that from down there nobody passing would ever see him. He dragged himself up onto the road and wrote HELP across it in large letters in his own blood, then went back down to his wife. He is said to have died around three in the morning.

A farmer driving his usual route at nine took the word on the road for a prank by teenagers, until he saw the wreck and the two bodies beside it and drove into town for the sheriff. The road has carried the name ever since.

FAQ

Where is Route 6, the road they call Help Road located?

Route 6, the road they call Help Road is in Illinois, United States.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.