Suburban Chicago family invites mail carrier for Thanksgiving after he helped man who fell

    AURORA, Illinois (WBBM) -- A west suburban family opened their home to their mail carrier this Thanksgiving—in an expression of gratitude that he was in the right place at the right time.

The postal worker helped the family's loved one in the time of crisis.

Jaylen Lockhart came over to the home of Guy and Marsha Miller in Aurora for Thanksgiving Thursday—with his wife and baby girl along with him. There were hugs and a few introductions, as Lockhart was meeting some of the people at the Miller home for the first time.

Lockhart only knew a few people in the family when he arrived, but this was not his first visit to the house. Back on Saturday, Nov. 16, he was frantically knocking at the same door.

Moments earlier, Lockhart filling in on a mail route in Aurora, had spotted Guy Miller after the latter took a nasty fall.

"In my rearview mirror, I noticed that a guy was starting to take his tumble, and you know, I just wanted to get to him as quick as I can," Lockhart said.

Miller was bleeding badly after hitting his head on the ground, and Lockhart jumped into action to help out the man who was, at the time, a stranger.

"That's when Jaylen saw me and thought, 'This old guy is in distress,'" Miller said. "I was trying to get up, but I was a little lightheaded."

Lockhart asked for Miller's address, and rushed to the house. As seen on Ring video, Lockhart told Miller's wife that her husband had fallen on the street and faceplanted.

"He went and got my wife, because it was just a block down the street," Miller said, "and she drove in the car, and he put me in the car."

The actions of strangers caught the attention of so many. As the City of Aurora honored Lockhart, Mr. Miller's wife expressed what Lockhart's actions meant.

"To me what was so remarkable was Jaylen found my house, came to my house, and let me know that my husband was going through a crisis," said Marsha Miller, "and when you go through a crisis, you don't want to go through it alone."

So to show the family's appreciation, the Miller extended a Thanksgiving invitation to Lockhart's family.

"I just asked if he had any plans to go for Thanksgiving dinner," said Guy Miller. "He said, 'Not really.' I said, 'Well, you do now.'"

The two families enjoyed each other's company Thursday night, showing what can be done when people show compassion for others.

"I met an amazing family, and I'm glad to sit here at this table and be a part of it," said Lockhart.