Domino’s driver saves customer’s life

SALEM, Ore. (KOIN) – Domino’s delivers!

Employees at a Domino’s Pizza in Salem hadn’t heard from regular customer Kirk Alexander in 11 days, so they sent a delivery driver to check on him. It turned out Alexander needed help.

Sarah Fuller, the general manager for Domino’s, told KOIN-TV Alexander has been ordering from their store since 2009.

“He orders every day, every other day,” Fuller said. “His order pops up on the screen because he orders online. So we see it come across the screen and we’re like, ‘Oh, Kirk’s order.’”

But a few days had gone between his orders and some of the drivers mentioned it. Finally, around midnight Saturday, they decided to look at his account to see what was going on.

“We saw the last order was 11 days ago. We knew something wasn’t (right), that wasn’t normal at all,” Fuller said.

She sent pizza deliverer Tracey Hamblen to Alexander’s northeast Salem home in the 4100 block of Penticton Circle NE. Hamblen knows the route well, since Alexander orders often.

He also knew Alexander, 48, has health issues. When Hamblen arrived at Alexander’s house, he saw lights on and heard the TV. But there was no answer at the door and his phone went directly to voicemail.

Paramedics said Alexander was laying on the ground in his house, and Fuller said they believed he had a stroke. It’s not clear when Alexander was affected.

“It’s crazy. It wasn’t what I was really expecting would happen at all,” Fuller said.

She said she visited him at the hospital, and though he didn’t talk much, she said he smiled.

Kirk Alexander, she said, is “just an important customer that’s part of our family here at Domino’s. He orders all the time, so we know him. I think we were just doing our job checking in on someone we know who orders a lot. We felt like we needed to do something.”

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon publicly thanked Hamblen and said his quick action and willingness to help made all the difference.