Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and auto show management presented two modified vehicles to veterans wounded by improvised explosive devices during their tours in Iraq at the opening ceremonies for the New York International Automobile Show this week.
U.S. Army vet Luis Puertas, 20, of Long Island City, Queens, checked out his new wheelchair-accessible 2007 Toyota Sienna Rampvan outside the Javits Convention Center. He lost both legs when an IED exploded under his Humvee in Baghdad last September.
Luis was fitted with two prosthetic legs at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Although he can now walk short distances, the Sienna Rampvan will greatly increase his mobility. It was extensively modified, first by BraunAbility of Winamac, Ind., which lowered the floor 10 inches and added a powered wheelchair ramp. After evaluating his needs, J. Bussani, Inc. can install a wheelchair docking device and hand controls at its facility in Bethpage, N.Y., so that Luis can drive the Sienna unaided.
The second vet is U.S. Marine Ryan Donnelly, 23, a native of Centereach, Long Island now living in Manhattan. He took delivery of a 2007 Toyota Yaris that was equipped with a left-foot accelerator by J. Bussani, Inc. of Bethpage, NY. Ryan lost his right leg below the knee in Iraq in October, 2005. He was fitted with a prosthetic device at Walter Reed Army Hospital. A Purple Heart recipient, he served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.
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