A local non-profit that helps transport elderly patients to and from life-saving doctor’s appointments and treatments has recovered a van that was stolen outside an Indianapolis cancer center more than a week ago.
No one has been arrested, and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is still investigating, said Kim Smith, Johnson County Senior Services executive director.
“The words beyond disgusting don’t even begin to describe it,” Smith said, referring to the recovered van. Someone had been living inside it, she said.
It was found about 7:30 a.m. Saturday at a McDonald’s on Southeastern Avenue in Indianapolis, about 9 miles from where it was stolen. Someone reported seeing it there, but when police arrived, it was parked with no suspect or keys inside, Smith said. It was taken to an impound lot on the city’s west side, where senior services staff picked it up.
It is being housed at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office while the investigation is ongoing. Smith is not sure how much of the repair costs will be paid for by senior services. She is working with police and the insurance agency to determine that, and was expecting an answer Monday afternoon, she said.
“We need to get it ready to get back on the road,” Smith said.
About 11:30 a.m. July 11, while a driver delivered a patient to the Franciscan Health Cancer Center at St. Francis Hospital near Emerson Avenue and Stop 11 Road, just north of the Johnson County line, someone drove off with the van, according to an IMPD report.
The 2017 Dodge Caravan, which was valued at $38,000, is equipped with two handicap ramps, and there are also handicap markings on the front and rear of the van.
It is one of just two vans senior services has that can accommodate large, bariatric wheelchairs. Special equipment and the driver’s purse were still inside the van, and one of the driver’s credit cards was used twice before she could notify her bank of the theft. The driver’s personal and company cell phones were also stolen.
A tablet with a special navigational system was also on board the van, which would have allowed senior services dispatchers to track the van had the thief not discarded it somewhere near the Rosegate nursing home, about a mile north of the hospital, Smith said.
The keys were left inside, the report said.
Staff at senior services have learned from this experience, Smith said.
“This was an off situation, one of those freak days (when) it was 90 degrees outside and the driver was just trying to get this senior with cancer inside and to her treatment on time,” Smith said.
“I think all of our drivers are being more cautious now than ever before, and more aware of their surroundings.”
Last year, senior services helped 13,473 seniors make their treatments and doctor’s appointments, Smith said. It is a free service the local non-profit organization has provided to seniors for 40 years.
Having one vehicle out of commission cuts the organization’s services in half, and dispatchers were working overtime last week to rearrange the schedule to make sure everyone made their scheduled appointments.
