Inspired by Charlie Kirk's Wife, Actor Tim Allen Now Forgives Drunk Driver Who Killed His Dad in 1964

Tim Allen

When Erika Kirk, wife of slain conservative voice Charlie Kirk, said she forgave her husband's killer, it touched many hearts.

One of those was actor and comedian Tim Allen, who spent part of his youth growing up in Birmingham. His father, real estate agent Gerald M. Dick, was killed by a drunk driver in November 1964 while driving his wife and a car full of children home from a football game in Colorado, according to USA Today. The driver swerved into a median on I-70 and collided with his vehicle.

On Thursday, Allen wrote on X that he now forgives the drunk driver, thanks to the inspiration of Erika Kirk.

"When Erika Kirk spoke the words on the man who killed her husband: 'That man… that young man… I forgive him.' That moment deeply affected me. I have struggled for over 60 years to forgive the man who killed my Dad. I will say those words now as I type: 'I forgive the man who killed my father.'
Peace be with you all."

At Kirk's funeral in Glendale, Ariz., Erika said:

"I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love."