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title: Couple Raises Money to Buy Stranger a Car
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# This Couple Raised Thousands of Dollars to Buy a Stranger a Car

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by 

[Caitlin Keating / People](https://time.com/author/people/)


## Caitlin Keating / People


Contributor

Dec 11, 2015 9:35 PM UTC

by 

[Caitlin Keating / People](https://time.com/author/people/)


## Caitlin Keating / People


Contributor

Dec 11, 2015 9:35 PM UTC

Utah couple Sean and Darilyn Merrill were driving home around 9:45 p.m. when they saw a tired-looking man trudge through the crosswalk in front of them.

Holding a lunchbox in his hand, he looked worn out and was drooping his head.

Instead of the couple continuing along their drive, they decided to pull over and ask the man, who they later learned was school custodian Robert Ford, if he needed a ride.

“In a brief trip Robert told us that he missed his bus that day,” Sean told [_The Mirror_](http://kutv.com/news/local/man-takes-ride-from-strangers-and-it-pays-off-big-time). “It takes him two and a half hours on public transportation to get to work and that same commute home after his day is over.”

After they drove him home, they decided their journey with him wasn’t over.

Sean and Darilyn, along with Robert’s sister-in-law Kathy, set up a GoFundMe account to raise money to buy him a car.

They were able to raise enough for a car and the insurance, and touchingly handed Robert the keys.

“I’m a total stranger and they did this for me. It blows my mind,” Ford told [KUTV](http://kutv.com/news/local/man-takes-ride-from-strangers-and-it-pays-off-big-time).

The selfless act has now inspired Ford to pay it forward.

“If it wasn’t for them, I’d be still riding the bus,” Ford told _The Mirror_. “I owe them a lot, and I’m going to do my best … to help somebody else.”

_This_ [_article_](http://www.people.com/article/couple-raises-money-to-buy-school-custodian-car?xid=IFT-Trending) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://people.com)_._

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