A homeless man in Kansas City is being rewarded with an opportunity of a lifetime thanks to a random act of kindness.
Last weekend, as several inches of snow fell in the Kansas City area, Dave Cochran was helping strangers along Highway 40 pull their cars out of the snow when, according to CBS affiliate KCTV, he helped one particular motorist get to a very important event.
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https://twitter.com/kmyers_photoj/status/1084609568620113920
The man was Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Jeff Allen, whose BMW was stuck in the snow on his way to the Chiefs playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts.
“I rolled down my window and I asked them if they needed help,” Cochran said. “They said, ‘Yeah! We’re trying to get to the game.’ “
Cochran — who lives out of his truck — pulled Allen’s car from the snow and up a hill. Allen made it in time for the game, which the Chiefs won 31-13. Afterwards, Allen took to Twitter ask people to help him track Cochran down – who he only knew as Dave – so that he could thank him.
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Update: 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 https://t.co/e4OkEg6AAw
— Cookie Expert (@JeffAllen71) January 13, 2019
The message finally got back to Cochran, a lifelong Chiefs fan, and he couldn’t contain his happiness when wanted found out Allen wanted to give him tickets to the AFC Championship Game.
“I seen that message and people called me,” Cochran said. “I started bawling out of happiness and excitement.”
Cochran has had a troubled life, including spending time in prison between 2008 and 2015. He said that people have given him chances and didn’t give up on him and now he will be attending the first AFC Championship Game to be played in Kansas City.
“We’ve got a lot of caring, good-hearted people in Kansas City,” Cochran told the Kansas City Star. “I want to use this to build myself up. I want to give back.”