Neighbors Help Repair Home 4 Years After Crash
DENVER (CBS4) - Neighbors helped one senior citizen repair his home after he was scammed- twice- that left his home crumbling on the west side of Denver near 40th Avenue and Vallejo Street.
Police say in 2011, a drunk driver in a stolen car barreled through the brick in the front of Fred Majia's home and came to a stop right in the middle of his living room. He wasn't hurt but his house remained damaged until recently.
Majia, 79, was nearly speechless on Friday at the transformation of his home.
When asked, "What do you think of this house?" Majia replied, "Oh, great."
Then he replied, "It's still sinking in" when asked if he could believe it.
Twice Mejia hired contractors to fix up his home, twice they took his money and never made the necessary repairs.
"They scammed me for $3,500," Mejia said.
Neighbor David Vititoe organized other neighbors to pitch in with money and labor to fix up Mejia's home.
"Once you meet Fred you realize he's just the nicest person you'll ever meet," Vititoe said.
Big contractors like Hensel Phelps Construction Company got involved, donating days of work.
"We don't want to see him living like this and we knew we could fix it," said Jeremy Spooner of Hensel Phelps.
This winter will be the first time in four years that Fred will have a working heater. He also has a new working hot water heater. The tough former Marine says it will be nice to have some warmth this year.
He told CBS4's Suzanne McCarroll what really warms his heart is the kindness of his neighbors, people taking time to help someone they don't even know.
"They're just tremendous people. I love them," said Fred.
In the spring, neighbors will help landscape Fred's yard and plant flowers for him.
Suzanne McCarroll is a general assignment reporter at CBS4. Her stories can regularly be seen on CBS4 News at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Connect with her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @SuzanneCBS4.
