Donations pour in for man who bikes 16 miles to work a day
DETROIT, MI (FOX 2)- A metro Detroit man has been braving harsh weather conditions for years.
Tony Berard has been riding his bike on busy roads just to make it to work so he can support his wife who is ill. Now a good Samaritan who recently gave him a lift is sharing his story, hoping it will help get a hardworking man a new set of wheels.
Berard will soon be in the market for a minivan.
A far cry from his snow covered journey that began two days ago. He was pedaling his way through the snow on M-59. When he was spotted by Jason Kapoor.
"I did a U-turn in the middle of M-59 and asked if he wanted a ride," Kapoor said. "I saw this older gentleman; he had frozen icicles coming from his beard and everything. Without hesitation he said he'd love one."
"I said sure," Berard said. "I was covered in snow; my beard had icicles in it."
It is not like first time Berard has trudged through bad weather conditions. Five days a week for the last five years he has driven eight miles one way to work and eight miles back.
Tony shared his story with Jason.
"I felt for him and heard about his wife," Kapoor said. "His wife is fairly ill. So he takes care of her and the story kind of touched me."
"She's a private person," Berard said. "Hopefully by December she'll get it taken care of and join the workforce again."
As he was dropped off at work, a picture of Berard by Kapoor sparked quite a response.
"He posted a (photo) on his Facebook page and its gone viral," Berard said. "And he has created a GoFundMe page to keep me warm and safe."
Kapoor, who works at Szott Chrysler, said this gesture of goodwill has been a longtime coming.
"I was was on FOX 2 before," he said. "You guys sponsored my family for Christmas because we couldn't afford the presents."
With that in mind he wanted to pay it forward.
"You never know how far it could go," Kapoor said. "Clearly."
As of Monday, Berard's GoFundMe page has already raised more than $11,000 for a new van.
If you would like to donate to help Berard, CLICK HERE for his GoFundMe.