Homeless Man Who Rescued KC Chiefs Player From the Snow Gets His Reward

As he hooked the car up to the tow hitch on the SUV that is home to himself, his girlfriend, and his dog, Dave Cochran gave no thought to the identity of the motorist stranded in the snow.

Much less did the former convict expect to end up with tickets to the AFC championship game, to have $14,000 raised for him, or for the broken windows of his SUV to be fixed.

Once the car was towed around the corner off Highway 40 in Kansas City, the homeless helper learned the man inside was a football player,  Kansas City Chiefs offensive linebacker Jeff Allen, on his way to the Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 13 for the Saturday game.

Before he could save Cochran’s phone number, Allen was interrupted by a call. When he finished, the homeless man had gone.

Armed only with a first name—Dave—Allen took to social media after the game to track him down.

“My car got stuck in the snow before the game & a nice guy named Dave help pull me out without knowing I was a player,” Allen wrote on Twitter on Jan. 13. “I want to give him tickets to the AFC championship game for helping but don’t have a way to contact him. He drove a 97 or 98 Black Suburban.”

My car got stuck in the snow before the game & a nice guy named Dave help pull me out without knowing I was a player. I want to give him tickets to the AFC championship game for helping but don’t have a way to contact him. He drove a 97 or 98 Black Suburban. Pls RT #ChiefsKingdom

— Jeff Allen (@JeffAllen71) January 13, 2019

The message went viral, eventually finding its way to Cochran’s girlfriend.

“My old lady is always mad at me because I help everybody before I help myself, but I told her one day it would pay off,” Cochran told Fox.

Cochran said he started crying when he learned about the gesture. “I swear to God I started bawling. I’ve never been to a football game, ever.”

“We’ve been homeless for about eight months now. I mean, we live in the back of a Suburban. If it wasn’t for my mom we wouldn’t have it, but we make do,” he said.

Update: Despite the recent influx in people changing their name to Dave in the KC area lol, I was actually able to track down the Dave that helped me thanks to the power of social media and #ChiefsKindgom. Thanks for your kindness https://t.co/e4OkEg6AAw

— Jeff Allen (@JeffAllen71) January 13, 2019

Cochran was driving down the 40 Highway on Jan. 13  when he spotted two cars stuck, he told KSHB. “I pulled one car out before that, then I saw another car stuck and I told my old lady, ‘We have to help him.'”

“It said Texas plates,” Cochran said. “He wasn’t used to this weather. He isn’t used to this coldness. He is from Texas.”

Cochran tied a strap to the hitch on his SUV, below the black plastic bags taped on to keep the cold from blowing through the broken windows, and towed it to round the corner.

Then, Cochran found out who the driver was.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be a football player,” he said.

“A human being is a human being, I mean. I was just doing what I normally do,” Cochran told KMBC. “I just like to help people.”

Cochran has been in and out of jail dozens of times for stealing and breaking into cars but said he wants to leave that life behind.

“They call me ‘Crash’ because of my prison background, but I am not going to be anyone’s crash dummy anymore, I have to make my sister proud,” Cochran told KSHB.

We got you covered for next week Dave! Thanks 41 Action News – KSHB-TV for letting us get Dave some warm weather gear! https://t.co/dyEHYAk6Xw

— E Edwards Work Wear (@EEdwardsWork) January 14, 2019

The story prompted other acts of kindness from local people and businesses. A GoFundMe page set up for Cochran has already raised over $14,000, with donors offering positive messages for the former convict.

“Everyone has a past, everyone has done something wrong,” wrote one person on the crowdfunding site. “And for you people saying he can’t change ’cause of his past, let me enlighten you. I was 18 when I went to prison. I was 21 when I got out haven’t been in trouble since. I got hooked on the meth at 16 and now have been sober 4 years. Don’t tell me people can’t change—it’s getting old.”

A workwear company outfitted Cochran with new warm clothing and a local glazier replaced the SUV’s broken windows.