A TikTok influencer has raised $240,000 for the Uber driver who helped her out after she was robbed and left stranded at Coachella.
Becca Moore, who has more than 885,000 followers on TikTok, shared the details of her time at Coachella.
The 23-year-old claims that while attending the Californian music festival, she had her phone, credit cards and the keys to her rental car stolen.
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In an interview with USA Today, Becca said the day after the incident, an Uber driver helped her out while driving her to get a new phone. While heading to a store to replace her phone, Becca broke down and told her unsuspecting Uber driver, Raul Torres, the full extent of her ordeal. She said: "I was like, 'I got robbed last night.'
"I was kind of downplaying it, and he was like, 'No. This is actually bad. I'm not going to let you go into the Sprint store and leave you. I'll just wait and make sure you get a phone'."
After helping Becca get a phone, Torres didn't stop his kindness there. The driver took the day off to help her. In her interview on US TV, Becca said he took her to Starbucks before taking her to the police station to report the theft.
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After being able to track the stolen phone to an Airbnb, the police, Becca, and Torres searched the location for the phone, but had no luck. Becca shared: "They thought I was just some party girl and they were like 'You don't have a phone. Sorry'."
Becca and Torres later found her phone during an additional search attempt.
"It was so relieving because I knew I could leave now," Becca explained. "My credit card was in the (phone) case, so I could get a rental car to get to LA so I could get to an airport or something."
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After her eventful day, Becca told her followers on TikTok she got dinner with Torres before learning that his daughter is currently battling cancer. Becca said: "I was like 'Oh my God. This guy's daughter has cancer. I just wasted his entire day."
As a result of Torres' kindness, Becca started a GoFundMe and shared it on TikTok with her followers to raise support for the kind Uber driver. Calling on her followers to 'pls consider giving anything u can', it wasn't long until the fundraiser had passed its initial goal of $1,000. The total amount for Torres now stands at more than $245,000.
Becca told USA Today: "It hit $1,000 in one hour and then $100,000 in 24 hours. That was the most insane thing ever. I still can't believe it."
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Becca has since explained the full story and told her followers, 'thank god he refused to leave me'. Her followers can't believe his kindness, with one user commenting: "I love this story! Raul is amazing and I hope his good karma comes back to him a hundred fold!"
Another added: "Coming together to help each other is humanity. This is so what more people need to see."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week
Niamh Spence