Boston bus driver returns purse with $8,000 inside, saving family's vacation

A shuttle-bus driver in Massachusetts is being praised for his act of kindness and honesty after he returned a mother's lost purse with all of her valuables inside -- including $8,000 worth of cash, CBS Boston reports.

The driver, Mark Trocchio, spotted the purse near Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Monday. Trocchio was hopping out of his van to grab his morning coffee, and outside of the Dunkin' Donuts he noticed a bag.

Inside the bag were credit cards, ID cards and thousands of dollars in cash. Trocchio knew what he had to do. 

"I just started at the company so I was trying to keep a low profile, but that didn't work out too well," Trocchio said. He rummaged around and found an ID inside the purse that belonged to a woman from Georgia. 

He went inside the Dunkin' Donuts to see if he could find a tourist looking for a lost purse. When he walked inside, he immediately knew who she was. "She was crying over in the corner," Trocchio said. He saw the woman's teenage children trying to comfort her.

"I shouted out her name and she turned, and I knew it was her because I had her ID in my hand," Trocchio said. He had a match -- and she was extremely grateful. 

The woman thanked him profusely and offered him a reward, but Trocchio declined her offer and left the Dunkin' Donuts. The woman spotted the name on his shuttle bus and called the company.

"She just said, 'This is why I love Boston so much,'" said Cindy Frene, of Transaction Corporate Shuttles. "So it's a great story."

Trocchio's backstory, however, might make this tale even better. He was once addicted to drugs and alcohol. "There was a time in my life when I would have never tried to give that back," he said. "But I'm just glad I'm over that hump." Trocchio, a former Marine, is now 17 years clean. 

Trocchio says he hopes he saved a family's vacation. Having lost his own wallet before, he says he can relate -- sort of. "Mine didn't have $8,000 in it, though. Mine had about $8 in it," Trocchio said.