Recent protests have left cities and suburbs in a smoldering mess, and we've covered incidents where a Porsche 911 GT3 RS was vandalized beyond recognition, a Mercedes-AMG GT set on fire and a Dodge Challenger Hellcat stolen during the unrest. Damage to property is to be expected when thousands of people hit the streets, and one rarely hears good news about cars when these things happen.
Antonio Gwynn Jr. a young man from Buffalo, New York was struck by the path of destruction left by recent protests and decided to pick up a broom and start cleaning, without knowing that his actions would end up changing his life forever. The young man was gifted a Ford Mustang Convertible for his efforts.
Gwynn started his cleanup last week Monday at around 2:00 AM in the morning, just after protestors had left his neighborhood, and he did not stop cleaning for the following ten hours. When organized teams joined the cleanup, they found that Gwynn had done most of the work himself.
Gwynn, an 18-year-old high school student, told CNN that he saw a destroyed Bailey Avenue in Buffalo on a local news station and felt inspired to help clean up. When word spread about Gwynn's act of selflessness, people began to take notice within the community. Matt Block saw Gwynn's story on television and decided to give Gwynn his 2004 Ford Mustang convertible.
Block told reporters that he saw Gwynn asking for car buying advice on Facebook and decided to step in with an amazing offer. The gift turned out to be more significant than Block could ever imagine. It turns out that Gwynn's mother, who had passed away, also drove a red Mustang Convertible.
A local man, Bob Briceland, heard of the story and decided to add a year of free auto insurance coverage for Gwynn's new ride, adding that "I just felt compelled to help him out. We just need to get together our whole city and show people how there are so many good people here." Gwynn thanked the two, but his newfound pride and joy hasn't stopped him from spending his time helping out in his community.