Coworkers surprise single dad who walked 11 miles to work with his own car

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last updated 14 February 2018

For seven months, Trenton Lewis would walk 11 long miles to work, getting up way before dawn in order to arrive on time for his 4 a.m. shift.

When he was hired for the job at a UPS facility in Little Rock, Arkansas, Lewis, 21, didn't have transportation and "was banking on my feet," he told CNN. A single father to 14-month-old Karmen, he never told his coworkers about his trek, because "my pride is strong," he said, and he would do whatever was necessary to provide for his child. Despite his attempt to keep this under wraps, coworker Patricia "Mama Pat" Bryant found out Lewis was walking 11 miles each way to and from work, and she quietly came up with a plan: She would raise enough money to buy Lewis a car.

Their colleagues pitched in, and the team came up with $2,000 to purchase a used car. Bryant's husband, Kenneth, fixed a tiny blemish on the bumper, and the 2006 Saturn Ion was ready for Lewis. His co-workers told him to come outside for a quick union meeting, and that's when they surprised him with his new wheels. He thanked everyone for their support and promised he was "never going to forget this, ever." As for his first trip, it was to pick up Karmen so they could eat lunch together.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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