COITSVILLE Disabled child's chair is stolen

Having another wheelchair custom-made to meet the 5-year-old boy's special needs would take up to a year.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
COITSVILLE -- Car thieves may have been looking for a free ride when they stole an 11-year-old Buick from a convenience store parking lot Monday, but it is what was in the trunk that concerns David Gebrosky, who owns the car.
"I don't care about the car, all I want is my son's wheelchair," he said.
Gebrosky's 5-year-old son's custom-made wheelchair was in the trunk. "He needs it to go to school, to get around -- he can't walk, can't crawl and can't sit up on his own. He needs the wheelchair to help him sit up," Gebrosky said.
The boy, Eric, suffers from an undiagnosed condition that has rendered him immobile since he was 6 months old.
Having another wheelchair custom-made to meet Eric's special needs, his dad said, would take up to a year.
Description
Whoever took the car, a light blue 1992 Buick LeSabre that was parked in the lot of Tic Toc Food Mart, 6888 McCartney Road, around 12:30 p.m. Monday probably would not recognize the components in the trunk as being a wheelchair, Gebrosky said. "It is blue and silver with black straps and black seat, and was broken down into pieces to fit into the trunk."
Gebrosky manages a Tic Toc Food Mart in New Castle, Pa., and was at the Coitsville store for less than an hour Monday to help the manager there set the alarm.
He said he's hoping whoever stole the car will return the wheelchair to the store after hours.
Eric's car seat was also in the car, but Gebrosky said it was not custom-made and therefore not as difficult to replace.
kubik@vindy.com