Toyota Mobility Donates Vehicles to Young Vets Wounded in Iraq

    NEW YORK, April 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 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.
     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070409/NYM093-A )
     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070409/NYM093-B )
     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.
     About Toyota Mobility:
     The Toyota Mobility Assistance Program includes a comprehensive
 resource information web site at www.toyota.com/mobility, where consumers
 can locate rehabilitation specialists, driving instructors for persons with
 disabilities, and mobility equipment dealers who sell and install the
 equipment as well as provide user training.
     About BraunAbility:
     The Braun Corporation is the largest mobility products company in the
 world. Braun also produces scooter and chair lifts, Lift-Up Seats,
 wheelchair ramps and other aids for the estimated 54 million Americans with
 disabilities.
 
 

SOURCE Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.