This 87-Year-Old DoorDash Driver Made a Wrong Turn. That’s How He Met His Angel

May 28, 2026

An 87-year-old DoorDash driver in Washington received the surprise of a lifetime after a simple delivery mistake led to thousands of dollars in donations and a chance to finally retire.

Joe and Alyona / KGW News

Joe Symonds of Vancouver, Washington, has spent the last year and a half delivering food orders to help cover everyday expenses and pay for medication. But one recent delivery took an unexpected turn when he accidentally showed up at the wrong house.

That wrong address happened to belong to Alyona Dikiy.

Dikiy was cleaning out her garage when she noticed Symonds seemed a little disoriented. After chatting with him for a few minutes, she was stunned to learn the man standing at her door and still working long delivery shifts was 87 years old.

“You couldn't imagine that being your own grandpa or grandma doing that,” Dikiy told KGW News.

Symonds explained that while he appreciated being able to work, the job had become physically difficult. He admitted that climbing stairs and navigating deliveries had taken a toll, and he had even suffered a few falls while working.

Touched by his story, Dikiy handed him $100 and encouraged him to take the rest of the day off. But she didn’t stop there.

With Symonds’ permission, she posted a short video online and launched a GoFundMe campaign hoping to raise enough money to help ease his financial burden and possibly allow him to retire.

At first, the donations came in slowly.

“Once it was at $400, I was like, ‘Joe, we're at like $400! You can take a couple days off!’” Dikiy recalled.

Then the fundraiser exploded.

Within days, donations poured in from people around the world, pushing the total past $40,000 and leaving both Symonds and Dikiy overwhelmed by the response.

“I think you're the kindest, most fantastic people that I could imagine,” Symonds said. “I never thought there were people like that — people who would donate to a complete stranger they had never met.”

For Dikiy, the experience became a reminder that kindness still exists everywhere.

“I think that a lot of people have really good hearts,” she said.

As for Symonds, he believes the delivery mix-up happened for a reason.

“She’s my angel,” he said.