The grass is a little greener after a landscaper was able to restore his business thanks to the generosity of others.
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On Nov. 9 an unusual pursuit that was broadcasted on live TV led to a man going into Andres Benitez’ house to grab the keys of his white work truck and all of his tools. The suspect ended up stealing his new truck that cost him years of saving to afford it.
“When I saw that he was going in the house my first reaction was, ‘My mother’s in the house, I’ve got to defend ourselves,'” said Andres. “I grabbed the first kitchen knife I saw and I was like, ‘Bro, you’ve got to get out the house or I’m going to have to stab you, right now.'”
The man ran outside and was confronted by Andres’ father. There was a scuffle, but the suspect still made it off with their new truck, damaging the front end as he sped down the driveway.
“Once I saw him start it, I kind of already knew it was over,” Andres said. “Just by looking in his eyes, he already knew it was going to be the last day of his life or his freedom, so he didn’t care.”
Andres added: “When he started the truck, that’s when my heart broke because I knew it was over.”
Little did they know it was far from over as many people from the community and beyond stepped in to help the family. A GoFundMe for Andres got an outpouring of support – in fact, it raised $94,000!
“I did not think, ‘Oh I’ll start a GoFundMe, and people will help me.’ I never thought that was going to happen,” Andres said. “I just really want to thank everybody for the amount of support.”
A local landscaping company also offered to lend them a work truck until they could replace their own. And Sperber Landscape Companies made a generous $10,000 donation to the GoFundMe. This is all in addition to the hundreds of others who offered donations as well as well wishes.
We are so glad this family didn’t have to lose work because of this unfortunate event. Thanks to the generosity of others, the Benitez family can hold on to hope that there is still good in the world!
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