This Papa John’s Driver Did What Police Couldn’t

This 87-year-old hurricane survivor opened her door to a pizza she never ordered, and the delivery man immediately handed her his cell phone. But although a hilarious mix up, that pepperoni pie was actually a desperate rescue mission launched a hundred miles away. In October of 2016, Hurricane Matthew tore through Palm Coast, Florida, where a woman named Claire Olsen lived completely alone. Her grandson Eric spoke to her that Friday as she lost power and told him the storm was a nightmare. Then her phone went dead and for two days, not a single person in the family heard a word. And although they were desperate to check on her, Eric was in Nebraska, his dad was in South Dakota, and his sister was in Los Angeles. He called the police and the sheriff over and over, but every line was overwhelmed with hurricane emergencies. That is when Eric had a stroke of genius, realizing that if a pizza place to her house, then his grandma had to be alive. So he called the only Papa John's in her county and placed an order with very specific instructions, call his number and hand the phone to the customer. When driver Lance Tyler knocked, Claire refused to open, insisting she never ordered anything, until he answered her grandson did. Seconds later, she was on the phone with Eric, telling him the surprise pepperoni was fantastic. As Eric joked afterward, police and fire couldn't do it, but Papa John's got there in 30 minutes and put the cell phone to her ear.