Good Samaritan Driver Loses Car Keys While Doing A Good Deed

HOOKSETT-- For Joe Mulcahey, starting his vehicle with a pair of pliers is the new normal, all because he did a good deed.

It all started when the good Samaritan stopped to help a driver at a Hooksett, New Hampshire Walmart Tuesday night. Mulcahey spotted a driver in a white Saab struggling to replace a headlight.

"I told him I was a mechanic, and I put the light in for him," he remembered.

The driver drove away and Mulcahey went back to his Ford truck. "When I opened the door, I noticed that the keys weren't on the seat where I thought I left them, and then I realized I left my keys under his hood," he said.

Mulcahey left the keys on the indentation near the windshield. He asked Walmart to check their cameras, but they didn't spot the Saab's license plate.

Mulcahey, seemingly stranded, took matters into his own hands. "I popped the clip off and I grabbed a pair of vise grips and I cranked the ignition forward and was able to start it," he said.

Mulcahey's key-chain also had keys to another two trucks, which he can't start now. It also had a key to his trailer and other work keys.

"It's a little bit of a drag because it's going to cost me a lot of money in keys because they're chip keys, so they're pretty expensive," he said.

The Hooksett Police posted an appeal for help on Facebook, but so far the Saab's driver remains a mystery.

Mulcahey is still hopeful. "There's no way they're going to fall out on the ground because where they are is real tight," he said.

And he doesn't regret helping a stranger. "I think that's the way the world should work. You see somebody struggling, help them out."

Both Mulcahey and the police hope WBZ-TV's story will be the key to solving the case.

The Hooksett police ask that the driver of the Saab reach out to them.