It's one of those classic "right place, right time" stories that's resonating with audiences all over again. Joey Grundl, a Domino's pizza delivery driver in Waldo, Wisconsin, was just doing his job when he was thrust into a life-or-death situation and hailed as a hero.
Grundl was delivering a pizza when the door was answered by a man, Dean Hoffman. But it was what Grundl saw over Hoffman's shoulder that set off alarms. He spotted a middle-aged woman with a visible injury who was desperately, and silently, trying to get a message to him.
"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.'"
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Grundl kept his composure, finished the transaction, and walked back to his car. The moment he was safely inside, he dialed 911.
"I had a delivery. It was a middle-aged couple. The woman clearly had a black eye. She pointed to it, and I swear she mouthed 'help me,'" he told the 911 operator.
Police were dispatched to the home. Hoffman tried to block them from entering, but they eventually got inside and arrested him.
The details that emerged later revealed just how dire the situation was. The woman, Hoffman's ex-girlfriend, told authorities she believed he would have killed her that night. He had shown up uninvited, punched her in the face, and "hog-tied" her with a vacuum power cord.
"If you love me, you will let me go," she pleaded, but he reportedly replied, "You know I can't do that." She also told police he had threatened to shoot them both with a gun he had in his car.
Police car parked outside a homeCanva
"I'm grateful (the delivery driver) was paying attention, because it could have been a lot worse," a neighbor, Amy Hammarlund, told the press.
The story of the hero pizza guy went viral, but it had a second, unexpected chapter. When Grundl gave his TV interviews, he was wearing a Taylor Swift "Reputation Tour" hoodie. Swift's fans, the "Swifties," immediately sprang into action, tagging the superstar in photos of the hero.
Grundl, a big fan, already had tickets to an upcoming Swift concert. When Swift learned of his heroic act, she arranged for him to come backstage.
"She knew who I was," Grundl jokingly tweeted after the show. "I'm thoroughly convinced Taylor gave me a cold."
Gif of Taylor Swift making heart sign with her hands via Giphy
The entire experience was, understandably, a whirlwind. "This has been one of the most exciting weeks of my life," Grundl said at the time. "I'm legitimately getting emotional and I almost never get like this... I guess I can really say I'm doing better than I ever was."
This article originally appeared 6 years ago.
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