Walmart cashier who walked 9 miles to work gifted car after officer posted about giving her ride

A Walmart cashier who reportedly walked nine miles to work was gifted a free car after a dealership saw a police officer's Facebook post about giving her a ride to work. 

Anita Singleton received a brand new vehicle from Matt Bowers Chevrolet Dealership in Louisiana, and it was all because of a Facebook post written by Slidell Police Officer Brad Peck about giving her a ride to work. 

“An innocent message posted by Slidell Police Officer Brad Peck, went viral over the last couple of days,” the Slidell Police Department said. “Matt Bowers, the owner of a local Chevrolet dealership saw the story and is surprising Ms. Anita Singleton with a car this afternoon... This is truly an inspiring story.” 

Peck picked her up from Walmart and drove her to the car dealership to pick up her new car, the department said.

The officer wrote about the hope that Singleton inspired in him in a Facebook post. 

“Let's talk about being grateful for what you have for (a) moment. Also let's talk about blessings,” Peck said. “This morning at around 0530 my shift was coming to an end. As I was driving over the Hwy 11/Front Street bridge that crosses over the train tracks (if you've drive on it you know how dangerous and narrow it is) I seen a female walking on it.”

Peck said he “quickly whipped around.” 

Singleton told Peck that she worked for the Walmart in Slidell on Northshore Boulevard. 

“I said mam, that's a really long walk, jump in and I'll give you a ride. We talked the whole way about life lessons, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and joked about other things. I learned that she is 52 years old and had as much energy as my two year old,” Peck said. 

“'I thank God everyday when I put my key in the door' she told me. 'So I have to keep going to work no matter what,'" Peck said Singleton told him. 

He said she was ready to walk 9 miles down “some pretty busy Slidell roads” to make it to work at 7 a.m., while her walk began at 4:30 a.m. 

“That spoke volumes to me. She told me when she can't get a ride she has to do what she has to do. We shook hands and she went into work. That brief moment of me getting to spend some time with her made my day so much better,” Peck said. “I don't think she knows how much hope she gave me and valuable life lesson she taught me.” 

Matt Bowers and his dealership let Singleton choose between two vehicles, and then paid the chosen car's fees as well as one year of insurance. 

Bowers had tweeted on Wednesday in response to Peck's initial post, saying “If someone can track this lady down I will give her something to drive.”

“Some unknown force allowed Anita Singleton to capture Officer Peck's attention and that set off a chain of events that ended at one of my car dealerships,” Bowers said in a Facebook post. “Maybe it was luck, maybe it was fate, faith, karma or all of the above, but whatever it was it was special.” 

“Ultimately this was a story about a police officer that noticed a lady walking alone over a dangerous bridge and went out of his way to offer his help to a stranger,” Bowers said. 

This story was reported in Los Angeles.