After his special van was totaled, Florida man with cerebral palsy surprised with new ride

A man in a wheelchair on his car's lift.
(Image credit: iStock)

Jonathan Barnes is back on the road.

Barnes, 34, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. His parents, Joe and Victoria, would drive him wherever he needed to be around their South Florida town, from doctor's appointments to church, in a van outfitted with a wheelchair lift. In December, the van was totaled in an accident, but because of supply chain issues, there were no vans available for the Barnes family to purchase, and it was estimated they wouldn't be able to get one for at least six months.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.