A local food delivery worker might just be one of the hardest working people in Washington, D.C., and the community recently came together to help him thanks to a chance encounter and a viral video.
Kevin Ross regularly puts in 17-hour days delivering food on his bike. But back in September, he said he was making a delivery for Grubhub when he was hit by a car.
“I got hit. I blacked out,” he said. “Next thing I know, I’m in the hospital.”
He needed surgery for a broken foot, and doctors told him recovery would take months. But with hardly any savings, Ross had no choice but to get back to work.
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To make a living despite his injury, Ross straps a walker onto his bike so he has support when he goes inside restaurants.
He said that for a little while, he was even using his wheelchair and taking the bus to make food deliveries. And because his original bike was totaled in the crash, he had to buy another one.
But it’s not the first time Ross has faced hardship. He said he used to be homeless and overcame substance abuse issues.
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“Dealing with that stuff and being homeless has made this like, easy,” he said. “I’m always a positive person. I’m always smiling. I’m always nice, you know what I’m saying?”
It was that attitude that impressed fellow bicyclist Josh Cavallero, who runs the popular Instagram account @BikingDC.
Cavallero couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Ross at a restaurant.
“It just blew my mind. Because, I mean, that’s a lot of drive to be doing something like that,” Cavallero said.
When he posted the video with a link to Ross’ Cash App, the post went viral and donations immediately poured in.
“I opened up my Cash App and I was like, there’s $2,400 on here! I’m like, how did that happen? I thought it was a glitch in the app,” Ross said.
Cavallero believes he deserves it.
“He has a really good heart. He’s a really good dude, so we all helped out the right guy,” he said.
The two have now formed a friendship, with Ross insisting on buying Cavallero lunch as a thank you.
“I appreciate everybody supporting me and I love all of y’all. Thank you for all the support,” he said.
News4 reached out to Grubhub for comment, but we have not yet heard back.
