Alabama college student Walter Carr, 20, got a job at a moving company in a nearby town. The night before his new job started, his 2003 Nissan Altima broke down.
USA Today reports that Walter tried calling around to get a ride from a friend, but couldn't. He calculated that it would take about 7 hours to walk to to the town of Pelham for his first day at "Bellhops Moving Company." So he started walking.
He made it about 14 miles to Pelham when police officers stopped him on the side of the road around 4 a.m.
"He was like, 'Where are you going?' and I was like, 'It’s hard to believe, it’s going to sound real crazy, but I’m actually headed to work.'" Carr said. When they heard his story, the officers decided to take him to breakfast at Whataburger and made sure he got something for lunch, too.
Carr said the officers debated for a little while where they could safely drop him off and eventually landed on First Methodist Church. The officers said they would send someone to check on him.
Proud to have encountered this young man. He certainly made an impact on us!#PelhamPD #belikewalter pic.twitter.com/d0zz0PMvnv
— Pelham Police Dept (@PelhamPoliceAL) July 16, 2018
Go read the whole story, which unfolded on social media through tweets and facebook posts of various people along the way.
This is an incredible story. The grit and heart Walter showed defines Bellhops' culture precisely. I'm really proud to be on the same team as Walter… we set a high bar on service and he just raised it. Look forward to thanking him in person this week. https://t.co/Fr4ytu5CM1
— Luke Marklin (@LukeMarklin) July 15, 2018
The cool punch line is that everyone who ran into him loved this young man, and the story went viral. The CEO of Bellhops, Luke Marklin, heard about it, and personally gifted Walter his personal Ford Escape.
