Suspected Drunken Driver Changes Life Profoundly For Man With MS
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - You couldn't tell by looking at him right now, but Warren Hartman is a man that's hard to keep down.
"Warren has previously been able to say, okay is there anything that needs to be done today? Then just get it done," his wife Ann-Marie Hartman said.
He was diagnosed with MS 30 years ago, but that hasn't stopped him from living a busy life. He holds down a job and loves to run errands in his custom van, but a month ago that all changed. It was a Friday, May 4, when Warren was headed home from work. He decided to take the backroads home to avoid the traffic through busy downtown Fort Collins.
Despite his best efforts, he was in an accident at the intersection of Taft Hill Road and Clearview Avenue that changed his life profoundly.
Ann-Marie Remembers that night. She says, "At 11:30 when he wasn't here I sent him a text and said, hey are you delayed on purpose. I was kind of being snarky about it but I didn't expect that he would call from the ER."
Warren was hit by a suspected drunk driver. He suffered a broken sternum and totaled his van. That left him immobilized for weeks, but not to be held down, in between rehab sessions Warren started looking for a replacement van online. That's when he and his wife both got a case of sticker shock.
"A new van that's got the ramp, the handicap seating, and the hand controls is about $75,000," Ann-Marie said.
That is more than he is willing to pay for a vehicle. A used one will do the trick, but still, at $55,000 that might be hard for Warren to attain right now. Even so, he's ready to work for it.
"Life happens, but I need to go places but my biggest concern is work. I'm going to continue. I'm not going to be satisfied with sitting around," Warren said.
Warren is excited to get back to his routine but he needs a little help. He's got a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for his new van.
Michael Abeyta is a 4th generation Coloradan and a Multimedia Journalist for CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 5 & 6. He is on Twitter! Follow him @AbeytaCBS4.
