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The heartwarming tale of a stranger's kindness is sweeping the internet, and it has left one mom feeling incredibly grateful.
When Jessica LaFair arrived in Pensacola, Florida with her sons late last month, she thought that the area's Ubers would be equipped with children's car seats. She explained to Newsweek: "We originally researched, prior to traveling, if Uber cars had car seats and it was advertised that they do. What I didn't realize is that it's area-specific, and apparently, they don't have them in Pensacola."
That left LaFair and her kids in a tough situation, as renting a car would have cost the family about $300, and they had no other mode of transport from the airport. Not knowing what else to do, she tracked down a police officer and asked him for assistance.
"The police officer went with me outside and asked the taxi drivers if they had a car seat," she explained. Eventually, one driver, Tim Jones, said he was up to the task and would be "right back" with one.
Thirty minutes later, sure enough, Jones drove up with the car seat for her son. "Tim measured [my] son in the car seat before ever putting it in the van, and then he took care to buckle him in as well," he said. "We went on our way and he even asked if we would like to stop to get snacks or water for the kids ... to make sure they weren't too hungry before dinner .... He was so kind through the whole ride."
Making the gesture even more remarkable is the fact that Jones had paid for the car seat himself—a detail that LaFair didn't learn until they were well on their way. "It wasn't until later in the [one] hour ride that I saw the receipt," said LaFair. Turns out, Jones had "actually went [and] bought a car seat from Walmart" for them. "When I asked he said that his grandson's car seat was still wet from being washed, but he wasn't going to let us down."
"He refused to let me reimburse him for the car seat," she added, noting that the following day, "he actually offered to bring me the car seat back for use through the rest of the vacation."
LaFair continued to gush about her experience with Jones in a Facebook post, which she shared along with the message: "MAKE IT GO VIRAL." A picture of Jones buckling in LaFair's son accompanies the post. She wrote: "I asked if he needed help and he said 'I learned this in grandpa school and I just want your kids to be safe.'"
Just as LaFair wished, the post is well on its way to becoming viral. Since she posted it last week, the story has amassed 38,000 likes and 28,000 shares.
Meanwhile, several commenters spoke up to share how the story had moved them—and some even recounted their own experiences with Jones' kindness.
"I know this man personally. He is very kind and always will go above and beyond to help people," wrote one commenter.
Echoed another: "Mr. Jones is an amazing man and there's no other like him."
"We were so grateful to have a superhero like Tim there," LaFair told Newsweek. "Way above and beyond."
She added: "Kindness is a virtue and so is paying it forward."
Newsweek has reached out to Jones for comment.
