$100,000 karma for homeless man who spent his last $20 to help woman

Kate McClure and her benefactor Johnny on an exit ramp of I-95 in Philadelphia. Kate McClure and her benefactor Johnny on an exit ramp of I-95 in Philadelphia. Photo: Go Fund Me Photo: Go Fund Me Image 1 of / 67 Caption Close $100,000 karma for homeless man who spent his last $20 to help woman 1 / 67 Back to Gallery

Kate McClure was driving southbound on Interstate-95 on her way to visit a friend in Philadelphia last month when her car began lurching.

She was out of gas. The 27-year-old New Jersey woman managed to pull onto an exit ramp as the last few drops burned off. It was 11 p.m., and she was stranded in a sketchy neighborhood.

"My heart was beating out of my chest," McClure said. She called her boyfriend, Mark D'Amico, 38, who told her he would come get her.

Meanwhile, a homeless man appeared out of the dark and approached her.

The man, named Johnny, frequently hangs out on the ramp, holding a sign and hoping for spare change from strangers.

Johnny told her to lock the car doors and that he would return with some gas.

"Ten minutes later," D'Amico told Philly.com, "she called me and said the guy brought her gas."

Johnny had spent his last $20 on the fuel, McClure said. She had no cash on her to repay him but promised to do so.

In the following days, she returned to the spot to fulfill her pledge to pay him back as well offer him some clothing — a jacket, insulated gloves, a knit cap and warm socks. She still stops by regularly to give him a few bucks.

But she felt that was not enough, so she set up a Go Fund Me page for Johnny.

"I wish that I could do more for this selfless man, who went out of his way just to help me that day," McClure wrote. "He is such a great guy, and talking to him each time I see him makes me want to help him more and more."

She noted that he takes care of two buddies whom he lives with under a bridge.

Her goal — $10,000 — was to get him first and last month's rent for an apartment, a reliable car, and four to six months worth of expenses.

"He is very interested in finding a job, and I believe that with a place to be able to clean up every night and get a good night's rest, his life can get back to being normal," she wrote.

As of Wednesday night, she had far exceeded her goal, raising more than $100,000.

According to Philly.com, D'Amico and McClure learned that Johnny is Johnny Bobbitt Jr., a 34-year-old former ammunition technician in the Marines. The story is he trained hard to be a paramedic — and was talented at it — but after a romantic breakup, he lost everything because of drugs and money problems.

He's been homeless in Philadelphia for a year and half.

But thanks to Kate McClure and the generosity of hundreds of strangers, that might soon change.