An 11-year-old boy in California with special needs is asking anyone who might help to assist him in his search for his stolen customized "therapy" bike.
"Why did you just steal it? Why?" the boy, Korrie Erickson, can be heard wondering in an interview with KCRA News.
Korrie has Celebral Palsy (CP), a group of disorders that affect movement, muscle tone, balance and coordination. The stolen bike was a model used for physical therapy and had been customized just for Korrie so that he could ride a bike like any other child.
"I'm just confused. Why would you take it away if you don't even need it?" the boy said, as quoted by KCRA.
According to KCRA, Korrie got the bike—a red ProSeries Foot Amtyke Therapeutic Tricycle with serial #50FC1416—last summer from the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Sacramento as a donation to the boy. It was worth more than a $1,000. But it's not just a matter of financial value for Korrie.
"He was really happy, he couldn't help to put the helmet on," his mother April Witt told KCRA. "He couldn't wait to get the bike."
"He was really excited, because it was the only time he could actually be a normal kid and ride a bike," she added.
Korrie found out he had CP when he was about a year old, his mother told KCRA. The symptoms of CP are normally not obvious in babies and only become apparent when a child reaches the age of 2 to 3 years old, on average. They include weak arms and legs, random uncontrolled movements, delays in reaching development milestones like walking and standing and a range of other issues.
CP can be caused by bleeding in the brain, meningitis, a serious head injury or an infection caught by the mother during pregnancy. It doesn't affect everyone in the same way. While some might have only minor problems, others can develop severe disabilities.
In the case of Korrie, the boy had a small blood clot in the middle of his brain, Witt explained. He's unable to stand and walk without support.
The bike was stored at Earl Warren Elementary School, where Korrie and his mom had dropped it off for him to use it for therapy at school, Witt told KCRA. The school then called Witt last week to tell her the bike was gone.
Sacramento police, whom Witt had turned to when filing a report on the bike's disappearance, said the bike was likely stolen from the school between March 9 and March 14.
Korrie is now launching a plea to anyone who can help him retrieve his bike.
"To give this little boy another hope," his mom told KCRA. "That somebody out there is good enough to say 'Hey, here's your bike back," at least to put that smile back on his face. That's it. I just want my son to have his bike back."
Calls for information can be directed at Sacramento Valley Crimestoppers at (916) 443-4357.
There's a reward of up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest of the bike's thieves.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more
