Laura
08-08-2008, 11:49 PM
from SiLive.com:
http://www.silive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news/1218198630317930.xml&coll=1
Disabled woman has scooter stolen
Dongan Hills resident needs motorized transportation because she has multiple sclerosis
Friday, August 08, 2008
By MARK STEIN
ADVANCE STAFF WRITER
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Everything seemed fine until she went back outside for her ride.
Yesterday afternoon, 58-year-old Julia Ruggeri, with her motorized scooter, was outside her Garretson Avenue home, waiting for Access-A-Ride to arrive to bring her to receive radiation therapy in West Brighton.
She had to use the bathroom, so, as she'd done many other times, she left the scooter outside near her steps and went back into her house.
When she came back, her scooter was gone.
"I come outside and somebody stole my scooter," said an upset Ms. Ruggeri, who lives with multiple sclerosis. "It's the only way I get around; it's like my car."
The start-up key was in her pocket the entire time, she said.
"Who steals things like that? It's not going to get them anything," she said.
Ms. Ruggeri is only able to walk very short distances, usually only at home and using a walker and a cane, depending on what she's doing. In order to run errands or go to mass at St. Ann's R.C. Church in Dongan Hills, she needs her scooter.
"The scooter (I can use) to go up to the bagel store. I can do a lot of things," she said. "Not with the walker."
Ms. Ruggeri said no one in the neighborhood witnessed the theft, and stated that it's too heavy for one person to simply take it and run off.
"It has a nice bit of weight to it," Ms. Ruggeri said, who usually keeps it in the shed.
The scooter is red, with gray seats and different colored arms -- one gray, one tan -- Ms. Ruggeri told responding police officers. They advised her to contact the Mid-Island's 122nd Precinct for any developments in the case, she said.
She has been using the scooter for almost 10 years, and said her former doctor was responsible for helping her get it through her insurance company. She hopes her means of transportation will be replaced.
"Even though it's going to be hard for me, I'm going to have to lock it on the gate," she said.
"If they're desperate, if they need it more than me, then God bless them," she said, referring to whoever committed the theft. "If not, bring it back."
Mark Stein is a news reporter for the Advance. He may be reached at stein@siadvance.com.
©2008 SI Advance
© 2008 SILive.com All Rights Reserved.
http://www.silive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news/1218198630317930.xml&coll=1
Disabled woman has scooter stolen
Dongan Hills resident needs motorized transportation because she has multiple sclerosis
Friday, August 08, 2008
By MARK STEIN
ADVANCE STAFF WRITER
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Everything seemed fine until she went back outside for her ride.
Yesterday afternoon, 58-year-old Julia Ruggeri, with her motorized scooter, was outside her Garretson Avenue home, waiting for Access-A-Ride to arrive to bring her to receive radiation therapy in West Brighton.
She had to use the bathroom, so, as she'd done many other times, she left the scooter outside near her steps and went back into her house.
When she came back, her scooter was gone.
"I come outside and somebody stole my scooter," said an upset Ms. Ruggeri, who lives with multiple sclerosis. "It's the only way I get around; it's like my car."
The start-up key was in her pocket the entire time, she said.
"Who steals things like that? It's not going to get them anything," she said.
Ms. Ruggeri is only able to walk very short distances, usually only at home and using a walker and a cane, depending on what she's doing. In order to run errands or go to mass at St. Ann's R.C. Church in Dongan Hills, she needs her scooter.
"The scooter (I can use) to go up to the bagel store. I can do a lot of things," she said. "Not with the walker."
Ms. Ruggeri said no one in the neighborhood witnessed the theft, and stated that it's too heavy for one person to simply take it and run off.
"It has a nice bit of weight to it," Ms. Ruggeri said, who usually keeps it in the shed.
The scooter is red, with gray seats and different colored arms -- one gray, one tan -- Ms. Ruggeri told responding police officers. They advised her to contact the Mid-Island's 122nd Precinct for any developments in the case, she said.
She has been using the scooter for almost 10 years, and said her former doctor was responsible for helping her get it through her insurance company. She hopes her means of transportation will be replaced.
"Even though it's going to be hard for me, I'm going to have to lock it on the gate," she said.
"If they're desperate, if they need it more than me, then God bless them," she said, referring to whoever committed the theft. "If not, bring it back."
Mark Stein is a news reporter for the Advance. He may be reached at stein@siadvance.com.
©2008 SI Advance
© 2008 SILive.com All Rights Reserved.