It’s a new lease on life for one California family.
The family of an autistic boy who was slapped by an angry Mercedes driver in a shocking viral video was surprised with a brand new SUV.
Footage of Alfredo Morales, 10, being struck by a grown man went viral over the summer — and it later emerged that he and his family had been living in their beaten-down 2010 Ford F-150, ABC 7 reported.
When the family brought the car into Airport Marina Ford in Los Angeles on Monday for repairs, the dealership decided to surprise them with a pristine 2023 Ford Explorer, valued at around $36,000, free of charge.
“If there’s a child involved in a situation like that, and the condition of living in the other vehicle, and trying to survive out of that, and then that vehicle being as bad as it was, it was just the right thing to do,” the dealership’s general manager Dan Theroux told the outlet.
The family’s car would have required extensive restorations, including a new transmission, engine and a new interior, Theroux said.
“Dan got the Ford to come into the dealership. We saw it on the flatbed and we were like, ‘Uh-oh, this needs more than just a repair,’” NOARUS Auto Group president Jamie Bishton added.
The car comes complete with a Gold Certified warranty, meaning the family can bring it to any Ford dealer anytime they need it fixed.
The viral video from July showed Alfredo sitting on a bus bench with his older sister when an irate man, identified as Scott Sakajian, smacked him in the face after the boy allegedly touched the Mercedes-Benz emblem on the hood of Sakajian’s luxury $146,000 sedan.
Sakajian has since been charged with willful cruelty to a child and battery on a person.
Since the startling incident, a GoFundMe has raised nearly $100,000 for the family, who have been living in their truck due to financial struggles.
“Amazing. I don’t have words to say,” the boy’s father, Miguel Morales, told the outlet. “It’s crazy. I don’t have to say nothing. I don’t have words, just say thanks. You know, thank God.”
In addition to the new truck, Alfredo’s family has placed him in a school that specializes in working with children with autism.
The father added that he and his family are trying to find a more permanent home. They also hope to reopen their restaurant, which closed in August 2023.
