Yorktown Police Officers with Found Minivan and wheelchair
By Dan Murphy
Yonkers Firefighter Bob Finnegan lives in the Shrub Oak section of the Town of Yorktown. When he came out to start his day, he found that his 2017 Toyota Sienna had been stolen out of his driveway. In the car was a specialized wheelchair for his 10-year old daughter, Mia.
After a tremendous outpouring of support and donations to the family, Yorktown Police answered the prayers of the Finnegan’s, finding the car and the wheelchair.
The Yorktown Police reports, “A few nights ago, we had a few people we refer to as P.O.S. (Persons Or Suspects……..although, it could be open to interpretation) rummaging through unlocked vehicles in the dead of night, when they hit the jackpot and located the van depicted in our photo. Unfortunately, and hey, it happens when you have a fob, you forget and leave the fob inside, which does not allow you to lock your vehicle. We may be suspect shamers, but we never victim shame here at YPD. Well, our P.O.S.’ decided they’d steal the van, which had a customized wheelchair inside, that was very much needed for a member of the victim household.
“Well, we’re happy to report that eagle eyed Yorktown Police Department Detective Dan Curtis spotted the unoccupied van parked in a residential parking lot just over the town line on Lexington Ave last night. The good news…….the customized wheelchair was still inside of the van! That’s Detective Curtis on the left, being joined by Detective Sage (best hair @ YPD for the last 25 years), processing the van for physical evidence as we speak, so we can return the van to the rightful owner ASAP. As always, we’re hoping to “scoop up” the P.O.S.’ involved in the theft and we’ll be working hard to make that happen Help us, help you, please try and remember to lock your unoccupied vehicles.”
To help the Finnegans overcome this challenging time, a GoFundMe page was set up and raised more than $7,500.
Bob Finnegan, Mia’s dad and a Yonkers firefighter, said that won’t happen again. “I accept full responsibility, you know, I grew up in a small town like this, so I got used to not having to lock doors and not having to lock cars,” he said. “Obviously I have learned my lesson that times have changed.”
The website MoneyGeek recently placed Yorktown at the #1 spot in its new list of the safest small towns in the United States.
