Chicago-based Uber driver Jose Figueroa could have considered it his lucky day when his passenger left a wallet filled with $3,000 cash in his car during an Uber trip. But Figueroa, knowing how much the man needed it, instead decided to return it to its rightful owner.
Figueroa picked up his Uber customer at the Chicago O-Hare airport where the two got to talking. He learned that the man, Volodymyr Kytsknuik, had just emigrated to America from Ukraine and was looking forward to starting a new life in the United States. He had just sold his business and was ready to strike out on his own in the US. The money he left behind was, no doubt, cash he needed to get on his feet. [1]
But Kytsknuik left his wallet behind.
Figueroa noticed the wallet and stated that he would be lying if he wasn’t tempted to grab it for himself.
He told ABC 11:
“I mean there was temptation. I’ll be honest with you. But me being a Christian, I couldn’t. I wanted to make sure I sleep good, so that’s what I did. I returned the money and the wallet.” [2]
Because the Uber app shields the phone number of the passengers from the driver, Figueroa had no way of contacting him. So instead, he drove to the apartment where he had dropped Kytsknuik off to give the wallet back.
Unsure which one he lived in, he started ringing doorbells until he reached Kytsknuik’s sister.
“The sister opens the door and I show the picture and she opens up and, she sees me like a guardian angel, she smiles, she hugs me, she opens the door and I see her brother sitting down at the table eating dinner,” he told a local news outlet.
Kytsknuik’s sister started crying with relief and invited Figueroa in for dinner.
And although Figueroa didn’t get to pocket the $3,000 he found, the family gave him a $100 tip as a thank you for his help and honesty.
Sources:
[1] Huffington Post
[2] ABC News