By Police1 Staff
AUSTIN, Texas — A chance encounter between an officer and a struggling mother turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Officer Jason Borne received a call Tuesday of a person walking in the road, KXAN reported. He drove up and discovered Lisa Medinnus pushing her 2-year-old daughter in a stroller along a highway frontage road.
“I saw her from behind walking down the frontage road and my first thought was, ‘oh my God, what are you doing,’” Borne said.
Medinnus told Borne her car broke down, she was unemployed and couldn’t afford day care. She was running errands on foot.
“Many years ago I was at a point in my life where I thought really there was no point in me being here and I actually did attempt suicide and I genuinely thought no one cares,” Medinnus said.
Borne offered to drive her to the store and gave her his family’s off-road stroller so she could walk in the grass rather than the streets. But he wanted to do more for Medinnus, who had moved to Austin looking for a tech job.
Borne posted a video on his Facebook of the story asking people to help the hardworking mom out. He created an email where people could send job inquiries and set up a GoFundMe to help her get back on her feet. At the time of publication, the GoFundMe has raised over $17,000.
Borne said he believes her will and work ethic will help her succeed. All she needed was a helping hand.
“I hope that I come across her in five years and she’s driving a BMW,” he said. “I hope that 3-year-old is now eight and in the back seat beaming in new clothes and everything else. That would be awesome.”
Borne is known for his acts of kindness. Earlier this year, he created a GoFundMe and bought new tires for a struggling teen. Just weeks after buying the tires, he surprised the teen with a new car.