Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Add Good to your Google News feed.
Google News Button

Pizza guy whose quick thinking saved a woman's life gets the reward of a lifetime

He saw her trapped in her own home, begging for help.

Pizza delivery driver Joey Grundl speaks in an interview

Former pizza delivery driver Joey Grundl

Image via YouTube
Tperry
By TperryMar 18, 2023
Tperry
Tod Perry is a freelance writer from Long Beach, California.
See Full Bio

Joey Grundl, a pizza delivery driver for a Domino's Pizza in Waldo, Wisconsin, is being hailed as a hero for noticing a kidnapped woman's subtle cry for help. The delivery man was sent to a woman's house to deliver a pie when her ex-boyfriend, Dean Hoffman, opened the door. Grundl looked over his shoulder and saw a middle-aged woman with a black eye standing behind Hoffman. She appeared to be mouthing the words: "Call the police."

"I gave him his pizza and then I noticed behind him was his girlfriend," Grundl told WITI Milwaukee. "She pointed to a black eye that was quite visible. She mouthed the words, 'Call the police.'"

- YouTube

When Grundl got back to his delivery car, he called the police. When the police arrived at the home, Hoffmann tried to block the door, but eventually let the police into the woman's home.

After seeing the battered woman, Hoffmann was arrested and she was taken to the hospital for her wounds.

Earlier in the day, Hoffman arrived at the house without her permission and tried to convince her to get back into a relationship with him. He then punched her in the face and hog tied her with a vacuum power cord.

"If you love me, you will let me go," she plead, but he reportedly replied, "You know I can't do that." He also threatened to shoot both of them with a .22 caliber firearm he kept in his car. The woman later told authorities that she feared for her life.

A day later, Grundl was seen on TV wearing a hoodie from Taylor Swift's "Reputation Tour" and her fans quickly jumped into action, tagging Swift in photos of the hero. Grundl already had tickets to go to an upcoming Swift concert in Arlington, Wisconsin, but when Swift learned of the story, she arranged to meet Grudl backstage.

"She … she knew who I was," Grundl jokingly tweeted after the concert. "I'm thoroughly convinced Taylor gave me a cold."

"This has been one of the most exciting weeks of my life," Grundl said. "I'm legitimately getting emotional and I almost never get like this. But as the likely most memorable week of my entire life comes to an end … I guess I can really say … I'm doing better than I ever was."

This article originally appeared five years ago.

domino'sherotaylor swiftdean hoffmankidnapped womanpizza delevery driversheboygan countyheroescelebritycommunityabusedomestic violencebest of humanity

The Latest

message in a bottle, Clint Buffington, Evan Buffington, Peter Thompson, Pentucket Regional, West Newbury, oceanography class, Pepsi bottle, Coast Guard, Bahamas beach, Emily Maher, WCVB, People magazine, reunion story, viral discovery, human connection, time capsule, beachcombing, found note, Massachusetts teen
Past Events

14-year-old tossed a 'message in a bottle' into the sea, nearly 50 years later, he received the call

Allie Phillips, @.allie.phillips, TikTok, viral video, 6-year-old, love triangle, diamond ring, kindergarten, first grade, parenting
Past Events

6-year-old girl returns from school wearing a massive 'diamond ring'

cashiers, cashier stories, weird stores, humor, retail nightmare
Humor

Cashiers share the 10 craziest, most bizarre interactions they’ve had with customers

angel shot, bar safety, Benji Spears, TikTok, viral video, bartending, Ask for Angela, code words, safety tip, bystander intervention
Past Events

A bartender saved a woman from a dangerous date after she used a discreet bar code for help

More For You

fear of the dark, fears, studies, phobias, adult fears

Are men more afraid of the dark than women? One study says yes.

Photo credit: Canva, champja from Getty Images (left, cropped) / Africa images (right, cropped)

Men are more afraid of the dark than women, plus more sleep secrets no one talks about​

My wife is currently in her late 30s, and for the entire 17 years I’ve known her, she’s been leery of the dark. Let’s say we’re winding down for bed and she mutters, "I left my medicine in the car," there’s a 100-percent chance I’ll be the one stumbling out to the driveway, shirtless and bleary-eyed, to grab it. (Apologies to my neighbors.) But I don’t blame her—in the right setting, I also find these post-midnight trips kinda creepy, despite the centering mantras my brain keeps repeating.

So how many people are just like her? Do most adults grow out of fearing the dark, or do many of us continue to glimpse our insecurities in the void? Turns out we have some interesting data to illuminate those points. When Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans in September, 29% of respondents admitted they "still harbor this childhood fear well into adulthood." Also notable is that men (33%) had slightly higher rates than women (26%).

Keep ReadingShow less
coffee, tea, caffeine, L-theanine, metabolism, synergy, blend, combination, well-being

Woman smiles with morning energy booster.

Photo credit Canva (Rido)

Breakthrough study discovers the perfect way to wake-up with a blend of coffee and tea

Lack of sleep is, unfortunately, a common, growing problem many people face. A morning cup of coffee has often been the go-to solution for finding the pep to face the day, while others seeking to be more health-conscious might choose a substitute like tea.

Turns out, the best solution might lie within a specific combination of the two. The calming effect of L-theanine in tea and the energy boost from caffeine in coffee can be combined to find the perfect, science-based solution that powers and energizes your day.

Keep ReadingShow less
prince, radiohead, radiohead creep, prince creep cover, coachella

Prince staged a legendary cover of Radiohead's "Creep" at Coachella 2008. But for years, it was impossible to watch.

Photo credit: Scott Penner via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0, cropped (left) / Nicolas Lœuillet via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 (cropped, right)

Prince dazzled Coachella with Radiohead's 'Creep.' Years later, fan videos finally found a home.

Despite their admirable efforts to evolve creatively, moving into beat-driven abstractions and lushly orchestral art-rock, Radiohead will probably (for a large chunk of the listening public) always be "the band that released a self-loathing post-grunge hit with the deafening guitar thwack before the chorus." The song, of course, is 1992’s "Creep," and over the years it’s become something of a rock-music standard.

According to Setlist.fm, it’s been covered by 665 artists over the years—at this point, it almost feels like it’s part of the public domain. (In one notable recent example, a college music-theater student went viral with an incredible, operatic version.) But no rendition of that angsty anthem is more famous than Prince’s. He performed the track only one time, at the 2008 Coachella festival, transforming it into a sexy, simmering slow jam. It was a joyous moment of reinvention, of one iconic artist saluting another, but, for years, it was nearly impossible to see the footage.

Keep ReadingShow less
baby names, '80s names, Colleen Slagen, @namingbebe, TikTok, naming expert, Heather, Jennifer, vintage names, parenting

A young couple looks with their new-born baby

Canva

17 once-trendy ‘80s girl names that just ‘didn't age well’

Naming a baby is one of the first big decisions new parents make. While some look for modern, unique names, others turn to the past, hoping to find a retro gem. But as one baby name expert is pointing out in a viral video, there's a big difference between "vintage" and just "dated."

Colleen Slagen, who runs the popular TikTok account @namingbebe, sparked a massive online conversation with a video breaking down popular '80s names that have completely fallen off the charts.

Keep ReadingShow less
Coldplay, Chris Martin, Rob O'Byrne, crowd-surfing, wheelchair, concert, viral video, The Guardian, BBC, inspirational

Chris Martin of Coldplay performs in Atlanta, GA on September 24, 2011

Mark Runyon | Wikimedia Commons

Man in wheelchair crowd-surfs at Coldplay concert. Then Chris Martin makes it really special.

For Rob O'Byrne, persistence and a love for music are just part of his "new normal." But a recent Coldplay concert turned his positive outlook into a life-changing, viral experience.

O'Byrne, who has been in a wheelchair since a tragic accident, shared his story with The Guardian. Years ago, a holiday mishap changed his life. “I dived into the shallow end, banging my head and instantly damaging my spinal cord. It felt like air deflating out of a balloon. I couldn’t move my arms and everything went white,” he recalled.

Keep ReadingShow less
sonogram, ultrasound, dog, baby, Inês Egner, Goulash, TikTok, viral video, pregnancy, funny

A couple holds a framed sonagram

Canva

An expecting couple's ultrasound photo has family members all saying the same, hilarious thing

An expecting mother, Inês Egner, recently went in for her 20-week anatomy scan, one of the most exciting moments for parents to get a clear look at their growing baby. But when the doctor handed her the sonogram report, she was stunned—not by anything abnormal, but by a hilariously familiar face.

Their unborn son looked exactly like their dog, Goulash.

Keep ReadingShow less
intimacy, friendship, romance, boundaries, norms, communication, platonic relationship, romantic relationship

Two friends laughing together outdoors.

Photo credit Canva

5 surprising truths that show romantic and platonic relationships are more alike than we think

The line between a romantic relationship and a platonic relationship isn't as bold as we think. Both kinds of connections rely on similar building blocks such as trust, laughter, emotional safety, and shared growth. Many assume sexual attraction and interaction are the main distinction, but the real difference might be in just how we label the behaviors.

What actually separates the two types of partnerships is heavily reliant on cultural norms and personal experiences. These are five surprising truths that significantly overlap the two kinds of relationships regarding sex, emotional intimacy, interdependence, communication, and commitment.

Keep ReadingShow less
cashless banking, bank policies, ANZ branch, Smart ATMs, cash withdrawal, digital payments, Australia banks, viral TikTok, bank teller, branch services, over-the-counter, customer rights, privacy concerns, surveillance, cash access, ATM limits, banking trends, closing accounts, Macquarie Bank, cashless society

Taryn Compton shares her disbelief after being told her bank no longer handles cash withdrawals.

TikTok | @basketballmumma

She tried to withdraw her own cash but the bank had a rule she never saw coming

Most people assume that if they walk into a bank, they can withdraw their own money without a problem. But for one woman in Australia, that wasn’t the case.

Taryn Compton, who goes by @basketballmumma on TikTok, recently shared her frustrating experience at her bank when she attempted to withdraw $3,500 in cash—only to be told that the branch no longer handles cash at the counter. The unexpected policy change left her stunned, and her video about the ordeal quickly went viral.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025