LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — Victor Roldan needs his motorized wheelchair for everything.
“Going to the bathroom, going to bed and stuff. So I’m 100% dependent on the chair.”
Roldan utilizes Lee Tran Passport Services to drive around town, but last week when they picked him up, he got stuck on the van’s lift.
“The ramp went up about 2 feet, and then it stopped. The driver couldn’t get it to go down; the driver couldn’t get it to go up.”
Roldan says he waited in the pouring rain for 20 minutes until the driver got the lift to start working again, but it was too late.
“My device was flashing lights, and the chair was not working.”
Roldan filed a complaint with Lee County and asked to have his chair replaced, but they denied his request.
“To my surprise, when they reviewed the tape, they found it was my fault.”
Roldan says it was their lift that broke, causing his chair to malfunction. Now he’s forced to use a wheelchair that doesn't meet all of his needs.
“This chair does not lean back; it does not go up and down; it makes it very difficult for me to get to the bathroom.”
Roldan says he doesn’t have the funds to replace the motorized wheelchair he needs.
“I am a disabled, half-blind, right-leg amputee; my hands are crooked.. the answer to your question is no.”
Lee County sent this statement in response to an inquiry regarding this story:
“After carefully reviewing the facts and circumstances as they occurred, Lee County denied Mr. Roldan’s claim as there was no evidence indicating Lee County’s responsibility or negligence.”
