What was probably one of the scariest moments of 16-year-old Riley Leon’s short life, has been viewed millions of times on the internet. Video of his red Chevy truck being tossed around by a Texas tornado Monday went viral on Twitter. The battered truck was deemed a total loss but things are looking up Friday after Chevrolet announced it will work with a local dealership to gift Leon a replacement truck.
Leon was on his way home from a job interview at Whataburger when the tornado touched down on a road in Elgin, Texas. It was one of ten deadly storms that tore through North and Central Texas earlier this week. Leon’s truck was knocked on its side, spun around and then, once righted, able to drive away.
While Leon did get the job at the Manor, Texas Whataburger, he was heartbroken by the loss of his truck. It was obviously still drivable, the smashed-in body and broken windows made the older truck a total loss to the insurance company, Fox 2 reported:
He provided a picture of the truck before it was smashed by the storm and earlier explained its a personal loss. “So it was family. That truck helped me and my dad get to where we are at now. To see that its gone, it brings a lot of tears to me,” said Leon.
Well, Leon and his hardworking family will have a whole new truck to make memories in. Chevrolet partnered with local dealer Bruce Lowrie Chevrolet in Fort Worth, Texas. He’s getting a brand new 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT All Star Edition — a truck that regularly goes for over $40,000 a pop. Chevy is also donating an additional $50,000 to aid the American Red Cross disaster relief efforts in Texas.
Leon and his family will be picking up his truck this Saturday. A good move, considering this viral video is basically free advertising for the Silverado’s durability. At the time of this writing, the original video had been viewed 6.8 million times on the original tweet alone.
It’s been quite the week for Leon. On top of becoming an internet sensation for surviving a terrible event, he gets a brand new truck and a new job. Hopefully life calms down a bit for the teen.
Source: https://jalopnik.com/chevrolet-donates-new-truck-to-teenager-who-drove-throu-1848703842
