Indiana man was mocked online for his ‘beat up’ truck. One person refused to laugh and handed him keys to a new Chevy instead
The original post went viral but the incident got a wholesome turn as a good samaritan stepped up to help.
For months, a badly damaged Chevy pickup truck became a source of surprise and amusement around South Bend, Indiana, drawing double takes on the road and growing chatter on social media. The truck, owned by Mo Riles, appeared in a video shared by CBS Evening News on January 10 as part of Steve Hartman’s "On the Road" series. Viewers watched how the 2000 Chevy Silverado that once turned heads for its condition eventually sparked an unexpected outpouring of community support — only once an onlooker suddenly realized the driver's story.
Locals described the truck’s appearance with disbelief. "I thought it was AI. I didn’t know if it was real," one resident said, while another added, "I did a double take because I couldn’t believe the sight of it." From the front, the truck looked like any other old Chevy, but from most angles, the bed was crushed, buckled, and patched in ways that made its existence on the road a remarkable sight. When asked what happened to it, Riles brushed off the details. "Let’s go with what didn’t happen to it," he said, explaining that the damage came from a long list of mishaps he didn’t bother recounting. Since Indiana does not require routine vehicle inspections, the truck remained street legal. For months, sightings circulated online, often accompanied by jokes and memes, but not everyone saw it as entertainment.
One day, Colin Crowell, who owns a local detailing shop, spotted the truck struggling along the highway and felt something didn’t add up. "I just thought, there’s got to be something more to why this truck looks like this," Crowell said. After connecting with Riles, Crowell realized the Silverado was his only means of transportation. "I just put two and two together that this is this person’s only means of getting around," he explained. Crowell decided to act — he launched a crowdfunding campaign to help Riles replace the truck with something safer and more reliable. Within weeks, about 500 donors contributed, raising roughly $22,000. Last week, Riles took the battered Silverado on its final drive — to a local Chevy dealership. There, he was surprised with a 2019 Chevy Silverado, purchased with the funds raised by Crowell and the donors.
The response stunned Riles. "That’s the part that knocked me over. Here’s a human being seeing another human being struggle, and I’m like, 'Wow, what did I do to deserve this?'" he said. Research suggests that visible acts of generosity can have a broader impact beyond the people directly involved. Research cited in the World Happiness Report 2023 shows a positive relationship between altruism and well-being not only for the people who receive help, but also for those who give it and even for those who observe it. It explains that people who engage in acts intended to benefit others tend to experience higher subjective well-being, including greater life satisfaction and more positive daily emotions. It also notes that happier people are more likely to behave altruistically, suggesting a bidirectional relationship in which doing good and feeling good reinforce each other. According to a study by the American Psychiatric Association, 89% of 2,210 adults polled reported feeling better after an altruistic act. The poll also asked Americans what places were most likely to observe acts of kindness, and 25% voted that it was the neighborhood. Just like a strong sense of community prevails in a neighborhood, in Riles' case, too, the community helped him.
Riles has worked most of his life, most recently at a Dollar Tree, and has dealt with health issues that make dependable transportation especially important for getting to medical appointments. The truck, despite its condition, had been his way to keep showing up. While the new truck marked a major change, Riles said the experience meant more than the vehicle itself. "This whole thing is not about me. It’s about this community bonding together. God is good," he said.
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