Woman's tricycle stolen from porch

She has cerebral palsy and used the trike to get around and run errands. "I feel violated," she said.

By MAUREEN BYRNE

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 12, 2000

CLEARWATER -- For Mary Ann Palermo, a brand-new adult tricycle was a step toward independence.

The 29-year-old woman, who has cerebral palsy and cannot drive a car, saw the three-wheeled bike as her only means of transportation. She used it to pick up mail, dispose of garbage and carry clothes to a laundry room at the apartment complex where she lives.

She was hoping the short rides would give her the strength and courage to pedal to a nearby grocery store.

"That was one of my goals," Ms. Palermo said.

She never got the chance.

After having the trike only two weeks, it was stolen Friday from her unlocked, screened-in porch at Lake Starcrest Apartments.

"I feel violated," said Ms. Palermo, who was at work when the trike was stolen. "I'm looking out on my porch right now and there is a big empty spot. That was something I used on a daily basis."

The members of Friendship United Methodist Church in Clearwater feel pretty bad, too. The congregation loaned $339 to Ms. Palermo so she could buy the trike.

"This was just another step in her independence," said the Rev. Patricia Daniels, pastor of the church, where Ms. Palermo teaches Sunday school. "The whole church feels bad."

Ms. Palermo, who uses a cane, had to walk to the mailbox or trash bin before she had the trike. She said doing her chores got easier after it was delivered June 21.

She compares the loss of her trike to that of an able-bodied person losing a car. "It just came in handy," Ms. Palermo said.

The theft of Ms. Palermo's tricycle is one of several burglaries that occurred Friday at the apartment complex, said Clearwater Police spokesman Wayne Shelor. Several porches and automobiles were broken into, he said.

If the trike isn't recovered, Palermo's church will loan her the money to buy another.

"It's just the injustice of it," Daniels said. "It's just frustrating that it happened to her."

Ms. Palermo's trike is a red Desoto Classic model, Shelor said. The hand brakes are on the left side of the handlebars.

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