WHEELCHAIR-bound Jeffrey Green was left stranded in driving rain this month when his electric wheelchair malfunctioned.
Mr Green, who works at Maribyrnong’s High Point Industries, was born with cerebral palsy.
He was left unassisted for almost 30 minutes near the footpath on busy Waverley Street in Essendon until resident Pia La Torre stopped to offer help.
Battling to fix his chair, help Mr Green to his destination, or simply get out of the rain, the pair were left without anyone offering help for a further 15 minutes until Mrs La Torre managed to contact disability agency Scope, which rushed a special taxi to the scene.
Scope workers eventually arranged for a distressed Mr Green to make it home to his Scope accommodation in Moonee Ponds.
Mrs La Torre said she was appalled that no one stopped to help, despite the heavy traffic and plenty of pedestrian activity at a nearby bus stop. She rushed to Mr Green as soon as she realised his situation. “It was really busy and pouring down.
“I was taking my little one to her swimming when I saw a disabled person in an electric wheelchair trying to wave people down.
“I could see he was really distressed and saturated.
“[When I got to him] he was so distraught he started crying and it just broke my heart.
“It distressed me that no one stopped to help.
“You couldn’t miss him. He was right next to the footpath on the grass area between the path and the road.
“I thought we lived in a community where people helped each other.
“Buses went by, people went by, cars went by, but no one offered any help or anything.”
Mrs La Torre said it was only after spending time with Mr Green that he calmed down and remembered some details about Scope.
Mr Green’s brother Robert said he and his family were very thankful that Mrs La Torre offered her help, but he was concerned at the state of modern society.
“Thankfully, Pia was brave and patient enough to stop. I’m incredibly thankful. For everyone else to ignore him . . . people these days just don’t seem to be helpful to anyone except themselves.”
Mr Green is hoping to have his wheelchair fixed soon so he can get back to work.
