(Crown Point, IN) - A local car dealership stepped up recently to help a hard-working man get some wheels.

 

Over in Crown Point, there’s a young man named Zack who just moved to northwest Indiana from Colorado with his kindergarten-age son. He had no car, and no phone. He had been riding his bicycle every day two miles to his job at the local Wendy’s.

 

He needed a car, but couldn’t afford one.

 

That’s where La Porte Chrysler Dodge comes in. They heard about Zack’s predicament from a business associate named Darren Zancan who had started a GoFundMe page for Zack. Recently, the dealership took in a 2005 Nissan Altima on trade and thought it would suit Zack just fine. “It’s definitely no BMW, it’s not a Mercedes, but it’s a super, super reliable car,” said La Porte Chrysler Dodge salesman Evan Messman. “We put new brakes on it, we sent it through service and made sure it was reliable and safe, and we just decided that would be for him.”

 

So on Tuesday, they delivered the Altima to the Wendy’s in Crown Point, where Zack starts work every day at 5:30 in the morning. Messman said Zack was surprised, to say the least. “As soon as Zack saw it, his hands went over his eyes; he was blown away,” said Messman, who received a hug from the grateful recipient. “It couldn’t have been a better reaction. He was completely shocked; he had no idea.”

 

The GoFundMe page is still raising money to help Zack pay for insurance, title fees, and gas. Any extra will go into a fund to help him and his son make a fresh start in northwest Indiana. The bottom of the page says, “Every member of our community is valuable and deserves an incredible life.”

 

It’s the kind of thing you see on reality television or internet viral videos, but Messman said it’s nice to know such a thing can happen right here close to home.