Business owner steps up for mother of two after car crashes into home
Melissa Tamayo tells ABC15 that a hit-and-run driver slammed into the wall surrounding the front of her home last month. The suspect fled the scene
By Cameron Polom
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PHOENIX (KNXV) — Melissa Tamayo tells ABC15 that a hit-and-run driver slammed into the wall surrounding the front of her home last month. The suspect fled the scene, leaving a path of destruction.
“It was just a mess, I saw the car, I saw the fluid all over the place,” said Tamayo. “I see my wall just crumbling apart. Cracks everywhere.”
She filed a police report, but the driver has yet to be caught. That’s when she turned to social media for help.
“I was trying to get people to let me know ‘if you notice something or if you recognize this vehicle, something, get some kind of tips’,” said Tamayo.
In the meantime, Tamayo says she contacted her home insurance company about getting the wall repaired but was told her deductible to begin the work would start at $1,400.
“For me to pay $1,400 out of pocket that’s impossible for me, it really was, this would have been standing in shambles for several months,” said Tamayo.
Fortunately, she wouldn’t have to wait months thanks to a woman named Kimberly Trevino. Owner of It Starts Here, a local remodeling company offering an array of handywoman services.
“I just thought it’s my time and materials aren’t that much and it’s something I could squeeze around my schedule,” said Trevino.
After seeing Tameyo’s post on Facebook, Trevino reached out offering to fix her wall free of charge. She said she recently had some luck herself after leaving her laptop at a Starbucks and returning the next day to find it still there.
“None of it is her fault so I think internally when I read about it I was getting the signs from the universe and god to do this,” said Trevino about paying it forward.
It was an offer that still leaves Tamayo stunned to this day.
“She’s amazing, she means honestly the world to my family right now,” said Tamayo.
She says for weeks Trevino has been showing up in the mornings to repair the wall bit by bit before heading off to her other job sites. It’s an act of kindness she hopes can compel others to emulate and maybe even encourage others to choose Trevino for their next job.
“She had the means to help and if only our community could do more of that it would be incredible,” said Tamayo.
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