College student who walked nearly 20 miles on first day of new job gets car from boss

A college student in Alabama walked nearly 20 miles to get to work on time as he started a new job — and his boss rewarded him with a car.

Walter Carr found himself in a bind when his own vehicle broke down on the eve of his first day. He tried, but could not get a lift from anyone.

He set out at midnight from his Homewood residence so he could make it to Pelham for his assignment with Bellhops movers on Saturday.

"I wanted to be there before 8," the 20-year-old Carr told USA Today. "I wanted to beat the crew members there to let the company know how dedicated I am."

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As it turned out Carr did not have to walk the entire distance, thanks to the kindness of strangers. He was stopped by police at around 4 a.m. after 14 miles.

"He was like, 'Where are you going?' and I was like, 'It’s hard to believe, it’s going to sound real crazy, but I’m actually headed to work.'" Carr told USA Today.

Police officers took Carr to breakfast, and then to a church so he could rest. After he resumed his walk, another officer checked on him and dropped him off at his destination.

Carr, who is a Marine, arrived at Jenny Lamey's house early, and they talked for a while before the rest of the crew arrived.

"I asked Walter if he wanted to go upstairs and rest until everyone else arrived," she wrote in a Facebook post that went viral. "He declined and said he could go ahead and get started. So he began working alongside Chris and I before the rest of the crew arrived."

The moving post was seen by Bellhops CEO Luke Marklin, who decided to reward Carr for his efforts.

"Just sitting there reading it, I was just blown away," Marklin told USA Today. "The more we learned, the more we realized Walter was just a special person."

Marklin drove his Ford Escape from Tennessee to Homewood, and presented the vehicle to Carr.

Lamey also started a GoFundMe page to help Carr with his car trouble. She has raised a whopping $40,000.

As for Carr, he feels enormously grateful, but admits he is also pretty sore after all the legwork on Saturday.

"That was the craziest long walk," Carr told USA Today. "My body was like, 'What was you thinking?' I had to get the job done."