A heartless thief stole a 9-year-old special needs boy’s adaptive tricycle — and now his Los Angeles neighborhood is rallying to replace it.
The little boy’s mom, Marie Johnson, said her son Jack’s specially designed trike was stolen from their backyard in Los Feliz this week.
After local moms learned about what happened, they set up a GoFundMe to gather donations.
Marie, who described Jack as having Down syndrome and autism, said that the tricycle “is one of his main forms of independence in the neighborhood, as walking can sometimes be too difficult for him or overstimulating.”
“He is incredibly proud of his bicycle and waves and says hello to everyone as he goes by,” she said.
Speaking to KNX News, Marie elaborated on the freedom Jack felt riding his trike.
“He gets on that bike and his little chest puffs up, and he’s just so proud of his bicycle because he sees all these other little kids going on bikes and doing things that, you know, before were unattainable for him,” Marie said, admitting she has no idea how she’s going to break the news to him that it’s gone.
“I don’t even know that I want to face having to explain that to him because he’s such a sweet soul, and he sees really the good in everybody,” she added.
“He would either comprehend it, and it would break his heart, or he wouldn’t comprehend it and be very frustrated.”
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