A local veteran got quite the surprise at the Bremerton Midas July 10 when he was presented with a refurbished car.

Last year, Joe Llamas, a full-time student, single father and veteran, was in an accident and fractured his vertebrae, leaving him unable to work and left with an unreliable car. Since then, he’s relied on his motorcycle to get around, but it isn’t a safe option to transport his 6-year-old daughter.

“I’ve been trying to navigate life with several constraints,” Llamas said. “This new car will give me a better ability to care for my daughter and start taking my life back.”

Llamas received the car, a 2007 Acura TL, complete with a big red bow shop co-owners Brian Worthingtonbrady and Angela Brown, along with the team who worked on the car.

Llamas isn’t alone in his needs. Lack of transportation is a barrier for millions of Americans and Midas franchises across North America have participated in its Project Spark program. In this instance, the car was donated by 1-800 Charity Cars, NAPA donated the parts, and Midas donated time to fix the car.

Llamas’ daughter is overjoyed that her dad has a car to get around, saying, “I’m really happy that my dad can take care of me now.”