Woman, kids stranded after wheelchair accessible van breaks down

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) - Since a head on car crash took away the use of her legs 30 years ago, Carol Coons has needed her motorized wheelchair to get around, and has relied on a vehicle that accommodates her needs.

Now, her wheelchair accessible van, as well as Coons and her son and daughter, are stranded in Pensacola after they broke down along the highway.

“When you're disabled, you can’t just rent a car or just hop into another car with the electric chair,” said Coons.

Coons and her kids were on their way from Daytona Beach Saturday night to celebrate her oldest daughter’s leave from the Marine Corps when the van quit running.

Coons, who lives off disability, says AAA towed the van to her daughter’s home but she is still left without a way home and with very little money.

“I just don’t know what I’m gonna do. Even if I get home, I’ll still need transportation. I’m supposed to have medical tests on my kidney’s tomorrow. I’m not going to make it,” She said.

To make matters worse, her daughter’s car was stolen early Sunday morning. The vehicle is described as a White 2007 Ford Explorer.

“Everyone of us is busted at this point. We put everything we had into trying to get the van road-worthy plus getting here with gas and everything. It’s really stressful for everyone right now,” said Coons.

Coons says despite everything, she’s trying to stay positive.

“It’s rough but you can adapt to almost anything if you try to stay positive and have a little faith that’s all,” Coons said.

A fund raiser has been put together for Coons. If you'd like to help out, you can do so by clicking here.