It was auction night in Greeley, Colorado. The room’s full of bidders. Some looked for deals, others for something more. Tanner Brownlee sits at a table, locked in on one thing: a Dodge Charger. His dad’s car.

Deputy Sam Brownlee served with the Weld County Sheriff’s Office. In 2010, during a police chase, he tried to arrest a suspect who fled a traffic stop. The confrontation turned violent. Sam Brownlee didn’t survive. The department eventually retired his squad car, the Charger that had become a symbol of his service.

Tanner hoped to bring it home.

In 2015, the Sheriff’s Office put the vehicle up for auction. Proceeds would benefit Concerns of Police Survivors, a nonprofit that supports families of fallen officers. Tanner launched a GoFundMe and raised over $3,000. He planned to bid up to $12,500.

But bids rose fast. Too fast. The Charger hit $60,000. Tanner couldn’t match it.

That’s when Steve Wells, a local rancher, stepped forward. He had placed the winning bid.

When the auction ended, Wells handed the Charger keys to Tanner.

They had never met before that night.

“It was in the parking lot. It was like a two-minute conversation,” Tanner told Denver7.

Wells later told Tanner that his original plan had been to donate the car to a women’s shelter. But after learning about Tanner’s story from his own son, he changed his mind.

“For Steve Wells to spend that amount of money on someone he didn’t even know, some kid, some 19-year-old at the time, it’s just awesome for him to do that,” Tanner said.

Since that night in May 2015, Tanner put serious miles on the Dodge Charger. He added a sticker to honor his dad and a Weld County Sheriff’s patch inside.

People recognize him now. They wave. They send messages. Some come from across the globe.

Tanner insisted that he planned to keep the Charger forever. Maybe even pass it down someday. “It’s sentimental for me,” he said.