A Wayne man was struck by a car earlier this month throwing him, and his motorized wheelchair, into the street.
Robert Schmitzer, a veteran, uses his wheelchair to get around town. On January 23rd he was struck by a hit-and-run driver, and left on the road.
“It’s really hard, because when I go to sleep at night all I see is a tan vehicle because it was right in front of my face,” said Schmitzer.
Luckily, Schmitzer wasn’t too far away from the police station. An off-duty officer stopped traffic and helped him out. Schmitzer said if people didn’t react quickly he could have been hit a second time and killed. He was laying in the middle of the street near Michigan Avenue and Wayne Road.
After Schmitzer’s story was broadcast on 7 Action News, viewers stepped up to help out.
Christopher Mills saw the story, and noted that Schmitzer had a badly damaged chair. While he was still using the wheelchair, it’s wheels were messed up. If he tried to turn, it didn’t always work.
“As everyone knows around here, I can’t really walk,” explained Schmitzer. “So, my chair means everything to me.”
Mills had a similar motorized wheelchair in his home. His neighbor passed away earlier this year, and the man’s family left it and a number of other possessions with Mills. He didn’t know what to do with it, and had considered donating it. When he saw Schmitzer’s story he knew he wanted to help out.
“Just seeing his struggle, I wanted to help in any way that I could,” said Mills. “I wanted to help.”
Schmitzer said he hadn’t talked about his ordeal for attention, however, he said he was thankful that someone took the time to help him out.
He said he's overjoyed with Mills' donation to him, but he's still hopeful someone else comes forward to admit fault for the accident that injured him.
