Local car enthusiasts connect after kind gesture

Bus driver leaves presents for drivers An ETS driver has been leaving model cars for some of Edmonton’s drivers. David Ewasuk has the details.

EDMONTON — Lionel Pereira is a proud owner of a Kia Stinger.

“It’s gotten quite a few looks and quite a bit of attention,” he told CTV News.

Pereira’s 2019 model is best described as a high-performance, mid-size car that boasts all-wheel drive and a twin turbo engine capable of generating 365 horsepower. “A lot of people don’t know what it is, and those who do say, ‘Hey, that’s a cool car,’” explained Pereira.

And one of those people recently thought enough about his car that they stopped and left a bag on his windshield.

“Maybe it’s like a bag of dog poo or something,” Pereira thought.

Far from it. In fact, it was a Christmas card from an ETS bus driver who had been admiring Pereira’s ride during her daily route.

“I pass by your car often. I’m also a Kia Stinger owner but mine is in thunder grey,” said Pereiara reading the card aloud.

It went on to read, “I saw these two Hot Wheels and was excited that they came out with one for our car.” Also in the bag were two toy models of Pereira’s exact make and model.

Even though the bag was placed on his car anonymously, Pereira and that bus driver connected through a mutual friend, giving Pereira a chance to tell his fellow Kia Stinger enthusiast just what kind of impact her kind gesture had made.

“In this day and age, especially now with everything with the pandemic, budget cuts, people losing their jobs, and people having depression and medical, and mental health issues, to receive something from an absolute stranger is absolutely uplifting,” said a thankful Pereira.

But that ETS bus driver couldn’t stay anonymous. CTV Edmonton reporter David Ewasuk caught up with Victoria Lang before her shift started late afternoon Friday. She says she does these sorts of gestures once in a while. “Actually, it’s what I do every year. I don’t do it to get noticed… I just do it as a random act of kindness,” she said.

Pereira now plans to pay it forward.

If just to brighten someone else’s day… somewhere down the road.

With files from CTV Edmonton’s David Ewasuk