A Barrie girl has a new ride after her motorized toy car was stolen from outside of her home.
On Tuesday night, Hilary was presented with a brand new pink ride-on toy car. It comes courtesy of Toys ‘R’ Us Canada, who reached out to the family after hearing their emotional story.
Sitting in the car, with a smile on her face, Hilary simply said, “thank you.”
Hilary has cerebral palsy. The motorized toy car helped give her independence and the ability to play with her friends.
“She is not able to walk on her own and requires a power wheelchair and to change it up a bit, we'd bought her an escalade so when her friends are riding their bikes, she can feel like she is doing something as well,” Hilary’s mother Denise Fogarty, told CTV News on Monday.
Late Saturday night, a witness saw a man and a young boy grab the toy car from outside the Fogarty home on Bourbon Circle, in the southeast part of the city.
Barrie police are investigating and need the public’s help in identifying the suspect. He is described as a white man, 5’8”, with a medium build. The boy he was with is believed to be between four and five years old.
Support for the Fogarty family has come in from all over the province. CTV Barrie received several calls from viewers offering to buy Hilary a new car, while others offered to give the family money to replace her ride.
“She wants to do everything like everyone else does. She doesn’t want other people pushing her in her stroller or wheelchair,” Meghan Fogarty-Gray, Hilary’s sister, said on Monday.
Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call police or Crime Stoppers.
