Spring Break
Disabled left without reliable transportation
Trevor Simonton
Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: News
Eight years passed before Wilson was finally able to bring herself to sit near the side of the road and wait for a bus. Now, with the memory of that fateful day emblazoned in her memory, the city is asking her to do it on a daily basis.
Going back to the bus stop
In an interview last month, Wilson was able to recall vivid details of that day 12 years ago with startling accuracy.
"It was April 26, at about 11 a.m.," she said. "I took the day off from work and was waiting at the bus stop with my mom."
Unbeknownst to Wilson and her mother, the driver of a passing car was struck with a seizure and lost control of her vehicle. The car swerved off the road and into the Fort Collins bus stop where they stood.
"It was a blue station wagon, I remember trying to push my mom out of the way before it hit us, but it was too late," she said. "I was tossed into the air, head over heels."
Wilson suffered a compound fracture. Her mother, Carol, had three limbs broken. Fran was in and out of the operating room for weeks until finally on May 29, 1996, when, exhausted and in unimaginable pain, she decided to have her leg amputated rather than endure further surgeries.
Not disabled enough
Dial-A-Ride, a separate service from Transfort, picks up seniors and disabled persons at their door and takes them anywhere they want to go within the reaches of the fixed-bus routes.
Wilson is completely dependent on Dial-A-Ride when adverse weather prevents her from being outside; her wheelchair isn't waterproof and could fail if it were to get wet.
"She uses a wheelchair, yes," said Marlys Sittner, general manager of Transfort and Dial-A-Ride. "But very few limitations keep her from the fixed-route service. I consider it her responsibility to use the fixed route unless a barrier exists that keeps her from doing so."
For 11 years, she used Dial-A-Ride every day without a problem, but last year city officials reduced its budget by $600,000.
Going back to the bus stop
In an interview last month, Wilson was able to recall vivid details of that day 12 years ago with startling accuracy.
"It was April 26, at about 11 a.m.," she said. "I took the day off from work and was waiting at the bus stop with my mom."
Unbeknownst to Wilson and her mother, the driver of a passing car was struck with a seizure and lost control of her vehicle. The car swerved off the road and into the Fort Collins bus stop where they stood.
"It was a blue station wagon, I remember trying to push my mom out of the way before it hit us, but it was too late," she said. "I was tossed into the air, head over heels."
Wilson suffered a compound fracture. Her mother, Carol, had three limbs broken. Fran was in and out of the operating room for weeks until finally on May 29, 1996, when, exhausted and in unimaginable pain, she decided to have her leg amputated rather than endure further surgeries.
Not disabled enough
Dial-A-Ride, a separate service from Transfort, picks up seniors and disabled persons at their door and takes them anywhere they want to go within the reaches of the fixed-bus routes.
Wilson is completely dependent on Dial-A-Ride when adverse weather prevents her from being outside; her wheelchair isn't waterproof and could fail if it were to get wet.
"She uses a wheelchair, yes," said Marlys Sittner, general manager of Transfort and Dial-A-Ride. "But very few limitations keep her from the fixed-route service. I consider it her responsibility to use the fixed route unless a barrier exists that keeps her from doing so."
For 11 years, she used Dial-A-Ride every day without a problem, but last year city officials reduced its budget by $600,000.
Viewing Comments 1 - 8 of 11
Eric Sutherland
posted 5/12/08 @ 1:28 PM MST
Great article on a very important subject. This type of enterprise reporting rivals the best that Fort Collins print media has to offer.
Craig Hawley
posted 5/12/08 @ 2:22 PM MST
the last three words under the pic. TRANSFORT? LOL!
OK I don't ever want to hear about my spelling again.
Craig Hawley
posted 5/12/08 @ 4:28 PM MST
I stand corrected and still will get flack for spelling. Oh the humanity.
Thanks for the heads up Amy. Color me embarrassed. :)
Amy
posted 5/12/08 @ 5:27 PM MST
Well...since I can't spell actually correctly...color me embarrassed :)
Marcia Fitzhorn
posted 5/13/08 @ 1:00 PM MST
Incredible amount of information put out in a relatively short article; well done. What unbelievable obstacles to put in the way of a person who faces more obstacles each day than I want to imagine. (Continued…)
Bob
posted 5/22/08 @ 11:27 PM MST
seems to me the ones that need the transportation are having to jump through alot of hoops (dont mind the pun there)but yet every day I see (and i take care of someone in a wheelchair so yes EVERY day) people that dont really need handicap access are getting it without fail, handicapped parking is the main one i see, something needs to be done about that
Bob
posted 5/22/08 @ 11:59 PM MST
Ok sorry about that last one, i went off the subject a bit, but it does irritate me to see people in need have to do this and that to get where they need to go and places to park, if you go stand in a shopping center parking lot where the handicapped section is and get you a list of 50 cars that come in, under 10 of those will be handicapped accessible vans, 10 more will have some kind of problem walking in and 30 will have no problem at all, not sure if im wrong or not but people over a certain age or weight get a handicapped tag for parking automaticly, i have seen quite well ables people jump out of an SUV or pickup and pretty much run into the store, but the handicapped tag on their window says different, now i know you dont see all handicapps right away but most of them dont consist of jumping out of a truck and running to a store, maybe im wrong on this one and maybe im not looking at it right, someone please let me know what you think of this
Craig Hawley
posted 5/23/08 @ 5:42 PM MST
I have seen lots of abuse of the Handicapped parking placards. I know that people let other family members and friends use the placards. It's a shame. (Continued…)
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