A Delivery Man Saw A Woman Mouth Three Words, Then He Jumped Into Action

It was certainly a shocking moment for Joey, who was working for the local Domino’s Pizza at the time of the incident. He’d been delivering food for the pizza giant for around two years, but nothing during that spell could’ve prepared him for what he saw at the Waldo residence.

In order to fully convey the gravity of the situation, Joey spoke to CBS 58 in October 2018. He told the news station, “I don’t really expect anything [when I make deliveries]. I just kinda expect to show up, and leave.” Given that he made between 15 and 20 stops each shift without any major incidents, you can understand why this one caught him off guard!

But here’s the thing — delivering a pizza isn't always as easy as ringing a doorbell, as Joey himself learned that fateful day in Waldo. After going through that ordeal, his relatively uneventful shifts seemed like a dream in comparison. But that got us thinking — what happens if a driver is genuinely unsettled by what they see? Can their employers do anything about it?

Domino's employee Chloe Patterson-Kane provided some insight on that front during a chat with news.com.au. She noted, “If it’s really weird, we can ask to not have to deliver there anymore. And Domino’s has support services in place if a driver needs [it].” Joey Grundl probably never thought he'd end up needing to use Domino's support services…

The incident that shattered Joey’s run of straightforward, standard deliveries took place in September 2018. Just like his other drop offs, he arrived at the house in Waldo expecting no drama. At worse, the driver might’ve feared being cheated out of a tip. In the end, of course, this ended up being the least of his worries.

So, Joey knocked on a lady’s door...only for a man to greet him instead. Nothing out of the ordinary with that, right? Mind you, it didn’t take the Domino’s worker long to notice something unsettling about the man. After that, he knew he had to act fast. Any kind of hesitation could’ve resulted in disaster.

Looking back on that moment, Joey continued his conversation with CBS 58 in October 2018. He said, “I gave the guy his pizza and behind him was a woman." It wasn't until Joey looked closer at the woman that his heart sank. "I could see a black eye on her right eye."

The woman's black eye was an obvious sign that something was very, very wrong. Sure, there were a few non-violent explanations — perhaps she fell and hurt her eye accidentally? — but Joey couldn't deny the seriousness of the situation when the woman looked right at him and opened her mouth.

"That’s when she pointed to [the black eye] and mouthed the words to me ‘Help me,’” Joey recalled. There was no denying that the woman needed help, and Joey was the only person left for her to ask. In a matter of seconds, an uneasy situation turned into a full-out rescue mission.

“Shortly thereafter, [the woman] mouthed again to me ‘Call the police,’” Joey recalled. In that moment, Joey had to remain as calm as possible. If the man noticed Joey's reaction to the woman, who knows what the man would've done? So, Joey did the only thing he could do.

“After the guy gave me the money for the pizza, I got in my car and started driving back to the store," Joey said. But he wasn't about to ignore the woman's silent pleas. "That’s when I dialed 911.” We can only imagine how tense that must’ve been for him — especially since the situation in the house could've become dire at any moment.

After all, no pizza delivery driver could’ve expected to stumble across an ordeal like that. It was beyond the pale compared to the normal shenanigans a pizza delivery driver encounters. Anyway, what happened after Joey called the cops? Well, they made their way to the house quite quickly, hoping that the situation hadn’t worsened.

Once the authorities got there, though, a nervy few moments ensued outside of the property. You see, the man attempted to stop them from entering the home. He held the poor woman back, and tried to keep her away from the authorities.

Understandably, she was desperate to open the door and get the help she asked for. After a few tense moments, however, the standoff was over. The man eventually gave up the fight, and the cops quickly took him and the woman out of the house.

Before long, the man was in custody with the police and the woman was finally with people who could help her. From there, a few more tidbits started to emerge about what had really been going on at the property before Joey got there. So we have to warn you — there’s some upsetting details on the way.

Let’s start with the man — who was he? After the arrest, it came out that his name was Dean Hoffmann. According to some news outlets, Hoffmann struck up a relationship with the unnamed woman back in 2016. The woman later moved into his home, and the pair were an item for roughly two years.

Yet everything changed going into the summer of 2018. At that stage, it’s believed that the long-term romance finally broke down, which resulted in the lady finding a new place to live. Just a month or so later, though, Hoffmann stormed back into her life in the most horrifying of ways.

As per the criminal complaint at the time, Hoffmann brazenly walked through the lady’s front door. He didn’t ask her for permission or signal his arrival with a knock. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. From there, the records stated that the duo got into a physical tussle as she tried to contact the authorities.

Hoffmann soon got the upper hand in the skirmish, ahead of striking the lady’s face. That explains the black eye, then. Meanwhile, the police records also revealed, “He then bound her hands together and her feet, hog-tying them with a power cord from her vacuum.” Her ex-partner didn’t stop there, either.

The complaint added, “[Hoffmann then] took a towel and shoved it into [the woman’s] mouth, and forced her to try to scream in order to ensure that nobody would be able to hear her.” What a terrible turn of events. It even got to the stage where the lady feared for her life because she couldn't breathe properly.

Hoffmann ultimately didn’t allow that to happen, as he went on to release his former girlfriend from her binds. Mind you, he still refused to let her out of the house. Shockingly, this ordeal spanned hours, with seemingly no end in sight...that is, until the home invader mentioned that he had a weapon with him.

Yep, Hoffmann had a firearm stored in his vehicle, and apparently threatened to hurt the woman as well as himself. Yet before that could happen, he placed an order at the local Domino’s. So it’s not an overstatement to say that decision might’ve prevented a horrific crime from getting even worse.

After the initial resistance, Hoffmann gave himself up to the cops willingly, which brought an end to the terrifying ordeal. As for his punishment, the home invader was hit with numerous charges. Newsweek reported that they included kidnapping, false imprisonment, and intimidation of a victim, as well as other horrifying charges.

And to think — even more horrific acts were avoided thanks to the keen eye of an unassuming delivery man. Talk about a jaw-dropping set of events! Speaking of Joey, what happened to him after this story came to light? Well, the Domino’s employee soon found himself in the news cycle.

As we already know, Joey spoke to CBS 58 in the aftermath, but he popped up on other channels, too. For instance, WITI Milwaukee grabbed an interview with the heroic driver, placing him in front of the cameras. On top of that, a few different websites also covered his actions, which put him in the spotlight online.

Thanks to his newfound fame, Joey was able to offer up some important advice to as many people as possible. He told CBS 58, “Sometimes it’s best to just pay attention to what's going on. You never know when someone maybe is trying to give you a little hint." Joey wasn't only able to give advice with his fame, either...

If you thought that was the last you’d see of Joey, we’ve got some news for you. This story still has one more remarkable twist in store! As it turns out, the average life of a pizza delivery driver can be turned upside down more than once.

When Joey made his appearances on the news channels, he was sporting a white hoodie with some text around the shoulders. Now for those of you who don’t know, this wasn’t a random item that he’d picked up from a clothes store. Instead, it was merchandise from a music superstar’s latest tour.

The artist in question? One Taylor Swift. Eagle-eyed followers of the singer soon realized that Joey’s hoodie was a “Reputation Tour” item, so they began to tag her in posts relating to the Domino’s driver. As that was going on, he was also set to watch her perform in Dallas, Texas, in October 2018.

Once Swift’s performance ended that night, Joey received an incredible offer. Yes, he was asked if he wanted to go backstage and have a chat with the star. No joke! Unsurprisingly, the Wisconsin resident accepted, and the pair went on to pose for a photo together. He looked absolutely stunned.

Then, after sharing that picture on social media, Joey summed everything up in a moving tweet. He wrote, “This has been one of the most exciting weeks of my life. I’m legitimately getting emotional, and I almost never get like this."

He continued, "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." And thanks to his sharp observational skills and quick thinking, the victim of a terrible crime is doing much better, too. As Joey could attest to, you never know when you'll have to jump into hero-mode...

Sean, an Amazon delivery driver, discovered this for himself in December of 2020. He was just finishing up a long workday filled with the usual holiday hustle-and-bustle. He'd been driving around for hours dropping off a slew of packages, which left his back in pain. Luckily, he had just one delivery left to go.

Sean pulled up to a neighborhood in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. He parked the truck, went around back, and removed the last of his workload. He skillfully piled the packages on top of one another and, with full hands, made his way to the final destination.

Sean's muscles shook as he balanced the packages. All he could think about was the end of his shift and the start of his weekend. It was Friday, after all! That's when he heard the screaming.

Sean's focus immediately shifted when he heard someone in terror. "I heard the screaming, and when you hear something like that, you have to go to it," Sean later told WESH. With that, he dropped his boxes and bolted toward the source!

As Sean got closer, he began to understand what was happening. High above the rooftops was a swirl of dark smoke. Soon, bright orange flames were coming into view. He was heading straight for a fire!

Sean finally made it to the burning house. As he searched for the source of the crying, he noticed two people standing outside. One woman was in a total panic. Sean would quickly find out why.

The woman, who'd just been rescued by her neighbor, was crying for her husband who was still trapped inside. The neighbor was too afraid to face the flames again, but Sean was feeling brave. He did what few strangers would even consider.

Sean ran to the building and saw the flames towering above him. What if he made his way into the fire and the man hadn't survived? Sean might get stuck in the inferno himself. But, quickly, Sean shook off his fears and went for the door.

The knob was warm and wouldn't turn. With sweat pouring down his face, Sean began ramming his body against the door. He kicked and thrashed until, finally, he ripped the door off the hinges. With that, he ran inside to search for the man.

The house was filled with a smokey haze. Sean yelled out to the man, but there was no response. Perhaps I'm too late, thought Sean. Then, he entered the kitchen and gasped.

There was the elderly man standing alone, holding onto his walker for dear life. "I don't think he really knew what was going on," Sean later told WESH. "I was like, 'Sir, c'mon. I need to help you. C'mon, let's get out." But the man wouldn't budge.

Sean could tell the elderly gentleman was confused. To get him to move, Sean would have to be calm and rational. The old man, still in a daze, insisted on grabbing his walker, but Sean knew that wouldn't suffice.

"I was like, 'No, we got to move... you've got to see another day!" said Sean, trying to move the old man along without hurting him. As the old man shuffled, smoke billowed into the hallway. If they didn't hurry, they could both end up passing out!

As the old man continued to shuffle along, Sean considered picking him up. But any physical damage would make the entire ordeal pointless. Slowly and hastily, Sean led the old man to the front door.

Finally, the pair made it through the doorway! Flames gathered behind them as they made their triumphant exit. The woman who'd been screaming was now crying with joy. Moments later, firefighters arrived on the scene. That's when they realized one family member was still missing.

Still inside the house was the elderly couple's dog! Fortunately, the delivery driver didn't have to go back into the burning home. Sean was shocked to witness the arriving firefighters rescue the pup in less than two minutes. As for the house, it was simply too late.

The couple's home was no longer livable. Thankfully, they were able to move in with their grandson, whose father, Tim West, was in shock after hearing about his parents' rescue. But most shocking was the fact that even the head of Amazon decided to speak up about Campbell's brave actions.

"We love hearing stories about drivers being everyday heroes for our customers and the communities they serve," said Amazon. "Everyone at Amazon was touched by Sean going above and beyond to help someone in need, and we’re excited to celebrate and thank him for his great efforts." Sean's response was humbling.

"I'm thankful I got the people inside out," Sean told WESH, both relieved and heartened to have helped someone in need. He knew the situation could have been even worse. Not everybody has the courage to run into danger, especially at the risk of their own safety. But many delivery drivers have stepped up in big ways to help people on their routes.