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Stolen car story moves hearts to help

After a car meant to help a woman get back on her feet is stolen, readers try to turn the situation around.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published June 16, 2006

DADE CITY - Cars are stolen all over Pasco County every week. The crimes go mostly unnoticed.

Not this one, the one that was going to help a woman who had left an abusive home and needed help getting back on her feet.

This one got attention.

After reading in Thursday's Pasco Times that a 1989 Chevrolet donated to a domestic violence center was stolen and later found trashed, several individuals and businesses sprang to action.

Gulf View Motors of Port Richey said it will replace the car for Sunrise of Pasco.

Mike Mancuso, who owns United Auto Glass, said he'll fix the Chevy's shattered windshields.

Another man left a phone message for Sunrise chief executive Penny Morrill, saying he wanted to help.

"I'm floored," Morrill said Thursday. "It just renews your faith in mankind, particularly after some jerk did this.''

The car, which had just 47,000 miles, was given to the center by the family of a woman who died.

Sunrise identified five worthy recipients who expressed their need for the car in handwritten letters. The women spoke of needing transportation to their jobs and children's doctor appointments, of the difficulty of expense of using cabs and buses.

But before it could be given away, the car was stolen over Memorial Day weekend from Sunrise's parking lot. It was later recovered with the glass shattered and interior damaged.

"We think that's ridiculous," said Mancuso, the glass company owner who called the Times. "They finally get a break and then something like that happens. So we'll give them a second chance.

"If we took care of the glass for them, they'd be back in business.''

Leon Kreisler, president and chief executive of Gulfview Auto Group, said his Port Richey dealership will search its stock and give Sunrise whatever vehicle best suits its needs.

"It was very sad what was done to these people. It would be sad for anybody, but these people need it more than average people,'' Kreisler said. "We're glad to do it.''

So it turns out, not one but two women might get help.

"That would be phenomenal,'' Morrill said.

Molly Moorhead can be reached at 352 521-6521 or moorhead@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 16, 2006, 07:19:46]