A Chatham man is without his main mode of transportation after his all-terrain vehicle was stolen in early April.
While police investigate the theft, a local A.T.V. club is hoping to raise enough money to put him back on wheels.
Shawn Daley says his wheelchair doesn’t move easily in the spring grass. He admits, "I’ll be out for an hour now, and I’ll be completely smeared, because it's a lot more to work to push around the yard."
He's not doing it by choice. A few weeks back, Daley, a paraplegic, and his wife and kids were fast asleep in their Chatham home when his main mode of transportation disappeared, "Getting up in the morning for Sheri to go to work at 6:30, we came outside to find the A.T.V. had been taken."
Tire tracks in the frost indicate where thieves went after making off with Daley's A.T.V. Otherwise, they left no trace.
Daley used his Suzuki KingQuad 300 for all of the chores on his one-acre lot and also to get to work.
There were many custom additions, including an adaptive shifter because Daley can't use his feet on the accelerator.
Vince Masse is founder and president of the Chatham-Kent AT.V. Club. He was inspired by Daley's story, “It’s pretty remarkable that a man paralyzed from the waist down can actually ride an A.T.V. and work with it, and enjoy it."
Masse has launched a GoFundMe page looking to raise $9,000.00 to buy Daley a new ride.
According to Masse, "This one will be an automatic, and power steering, so life will be much better for him on this A.T.V."
Masse says the club is already more than than half-way to their goal, and hoping to get a fellow A.T.V.er back on wheels soon.
