Homeless man who helped pull NFL player's car out of snow gets big reward
A homeless man who helped a stranger pull his car out of the snow Saturday had no clue the man he was helping is an NFL player. Now, the Kansas City Chiefs fan is getting a big reward for his good deed.
Chiefs guard Jeff Allen got stuck in the snow after several inches were dumped on Kansas City. A homeless man named Dave was helping drivers who got stuck on Highway 40 and stopped by Allen's BMW.
"I rolled down my window and I asked them if they needed help. They said, 'Yeah! We're trying to get to the game,'" Dave told CBS affiliate KCTV. He had no clue that Allen was not only trying to get to the game, he was going to be in the game.
Dave, who lives out of his truck, hooked it up to Allen's BMW and towed it out of the snow. "I towed them up a hill," Dave said. "I mean, I was kinda scared because I'm towing a 95 Suburban and they're driving a brand new 2019 BMW."
Dave successfully got the BMW out of the snow, and Allen went on his way to the game. The player wanted to thank Dave, but all he knew was his first name and the type of car he drove. So he took to social media to see if his followers could help find the kind man who helped him that day.
"My car got stuck in the snow before the game & a nice guy named Dave help pull me out without knowing I was a player," Allen wrote. "I want to give him tickets to the AFC championship game for helping but don't have a way to contact him. He drove a 97 or 98 Black Suburban." He urged his followers to retweet the message.
Through the power of social media, the message got to Dave, who didn't even have his own Twitter account at the time. "So I set up a Twitter account and I put a video on there," Dave said. In the video, he told Allen he was the man who helped him, and he hoped to see him sometime soon — under better circumstances.
Now reunited with the real Dave — whose last name is Cochran — Allen updated his fans that he rewarded the good Samaritan.
"Despite the recent influx in people changing their name to Dave in the KC area lol, I was actually able to track down the Dave that helped me thanks to the power of social media and #ChiefsKindgom. Thanks for your kindness," Allen tweeted.
Dave said the reward meant a lot to him — he's a lifelong Chiefs fan, but has never been to Arrowhead Stadium.
"God bless him," Dave said. "I've never been to a football game in my life."
Now, people all over Kansas City are reaching out to help the man, including a local repair shop, the KC Glass Guys.
"If anyone knows how we can reach Dave ... we would love to replace his glass. We have two at our shop we would install for free to help keep him warm," the shop wrote on their Facebook page Sunday night.
Dave and his fiancé live in the vehicle they used to pay it forward, KCTV reports.
On Monday, the repair shop replaced not two, but three missing windows from Dave's truck for free, the KC Glass Guys told CBS News.
