A Toyota dealership in Alabama has donated a $100,000 affordable van to a woman who was paralyzed when she was caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting on Montgomery Highway.
Toyota of Montgomery presented Amy Dicks with the van on Aug. 5 when she returned home after months of treatment and rehabilitation in Atlanta.
Dicks, 43, was driving to work and stopped at a red light in her Lexus when people in two nearby vehicles began shooting at each other. One of the bullets hit her spine, paralyzing her from the chest down.
“We are deeply touched by Amy Dicks’ strength and courage,” Brett Sutherlin, CEO of Sutherlin Automotive Group, said in a statement. “Providing her with this affordable van is a small gesture to help someone who has faced such tremendous adversity. After getting to know her and understanding her situation, it became clear how vital this support is.”
Sutherlin said he was moved by Dicks’ resilience when he visited her in the hospital and offered to cover the cost of helping her become mobile and independent again. Family and friends have organized several fundraisers to help pay for a van and modifications to her home.
Police, with the help of a $15,000 reward, arrested five people more than a month after the shooting.
“Through this tragedy, many people have truly blessed us!!” Dicks wrote on Facebook. “Two of them are Brett Sutherlin and Toyota of Montgomery. Brett and Toyota donated [to] our family a fully handicapped accessible van so I can get back to my normal routine! This is truly a godsend.”