CALGARY -- A Calgary man, whose life was irrevocably changed when he was shot while on vacation in Barbados, is struggling with a new issue.
Ken Elliott bought a brand new truck from a Calgary dealership just weeks before he went on the fateful trip earlier this year.
While on vacation in February, two armed men broke into the rental home he was staying in with his wife, brother and sister-in-law. During the confrontation, Elliott was shot and left paralyzed.
Now, back at home, he says he cannot drive the 2020 Chevy Colorado and says it would be "a challenge" to get it modified with hand controls.
"The truck, with it being small, has limited scope for me to be doing the mods for me to be able to utilize it," he said. "The ability to stow the wheelchair into the back seat – it makes it a little more challenging."
The vehicle was purchased for more than $42,000 including financing, but because it was sold and driven off the lot, it immediately depreciated in value. That's even though it has under 100 kilometres on the odometer.
The dealership offered $30,000 and help to get it to auction.
"It's quite a substantial change in value," Elliott says.
He adds that with everything that's gone on and how they've needed to renovation their home to accommodate for his new disability, the extra cash would make a real difference.
"With the expenditures we've had at the house here, it's the situation where the sale of the truck would certainly facilitate some of the expenses here," Elliott said.
A GoFundMe campaign helped Elliott and his wife to pay for some of the renovation costs as well as buying a wheelchair-accessible van.
