After south Columbus parking lot attack, man gifted new scooter

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A man whose motorized scooter was destroyed in an altercation with a driver in south Columbus last month received a gift Wednesday.

Terry Childs, a Marine veteran, relied on the scooter for his basic needs. Now, thanks to the Columbus Division of Police, Byers Auto Group, and the nonprofit organization Starfish Assignment, he now has a new electric scooter.

Childs was gifted the scooter Wednesday afternoon.

“I was elated,” Childs said. “I couldn’t hardly sleep last night; I was anticipating today, you know? But I didn’t know it was going to be all this, and I’m so blessed to be, to have all y’all folks out here.”

Childs said he was coming out of a store on South High Street last month when a driver tried to run him over. He escaped with minor injuries, but his scooter, his only form of transportation, was destroyed.

“He’s a veteran, I’m a veteran, so there’s kind of that bondship there,” said Columbus police officer Jeremy Smith. “That brotherhood, right, and I just felt if there’s anything I could do for him, I could try.”