Teen Picked Up by Cop to Stay Warm as Train Delayed, Soon Realizes He's Leaving Town
Kori Malenfant and her parents had just missed the train home to Portland, Maine. The train from New York to Boston ran late, causing them to miss the connecting train by only minutes.
The Malenfant family had just journeyed to New York for Kori’s brain surgery. She was suffering from a Chiari malformation, which occurs when a part of the brain breaks through an opening in the skull.
Although the surgery was a success, Kori and her family were stranded in the freezing cold of a Boston winter. They approached a police officer and asked if he could watch their bags while they found some warmth.
Captain Kelley J. McCormick told the family he’d do better than that. He brought them to his unmarked SUV, saying, “OK guys, follow me. We’re going to take a little ride.”
When McCormick got on the highway, Kori’s parents started asking questions. “Mom asked where we were going, and he laughed and said he was kidnapping us and that it was perfectly legal,” Kori said.
“He said, ‘Of course I’m taking you to Portland. Your daughter’s not going to sit in that cold train station being four days post-surgery,’” Wendi Malenfant, Kori’s mother, told the Boston Globe.
During the ride, McCormick told his passengers of his involvement with the Boston Marathon Bombing. “I was just so blown away by the goodness of this man,” Wendi said.
“We were all in shock and very emotional at this amazing and generous act of kindness,” Kori added. At the end of the drive, she posed for a picture with McCormick and shared it on Facebook.
His compassion didn’t end there, though. He asked them to please stay in contact and let him know how her recovery went.
A kind cop and a bit of a detour resulted in a lovely friendship. Kori thought of sending a letter or something eventually, but knows that the act of kindness McCormick performed couldn’t be paid back.
Kori ended her post on Facebook with a heartfelt blessing on the kind man. “Thank you, Captain Kelley McCormick. May God richly bless and protect you as you have blessed and protected so many others.”
She’s now trying to catch Ellen DeGeneres’ eye to get him featured on an upcoming segment.
“He is a humble, inspiring, kind man,” Malenfant wrote in her post. “I am blessed and honored to have spent a car ride with such an amazing national hero. Thank you, Captain Kelley McCormick.”
Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross wasn’t surprised by McCormick’s generosity. He said that this kind of thing just shows who McCormick is.
“That’s not a one-time thing with Captain McCormick,” Gross said. “He’s always giving. He’s a very free-spirited and giving individual.
“He has a great soul. . . . The mayor’s allowed us to put captains in each of our 11 districts that do get it, that do go above and beyond,” he continued.
“Captain McCormick just showcases what’s being done across our city. He’s a great guy.”
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