WESTFIELD—For Erika Chrystal, her scooter was more than just a mode of transportation.
Over the weekend, Chrystal’s scooter was stolen from the parking lot of her apartment on Franklin St. The scooter, a 2013 blue Tau Tau, was a gift given to her by her husband Jay after she had come home following radiation treatment for thyroid cancer.
For Chrystal, the scooter carried sentimental value that can’t be replaced.
Erika Chrystal’s 2013 Tau Tau scooter.
“I know it seems stupid, like ‘why a scooter,’ but my husband put so much work into it and so much thought,” Chrystal said.
Chrystal’s husband bought the scooter while she was receiving radiation treatment in March. It needed repairs, so Jay went about fixing it up, even buying a second scooter to salvage parts from. And all of this was done without Chrystal’s knowledge.
When Chrystal returned home after radiation therapy and being in isolation for several days she found the scooter in her parking spot, along with a dozen roses.
“It was like, ‘hey, you finished your radiation, one step closer to kicking its butt’,” Chrystal said.
“He says I don’t know how to have fun, that I’m very high strung and don’t know how to relax, and he said [the scooter] was for me to have fun and relax,” she added.
But over this past weekend, after returning home from a family night out with their three sons and one daughter, the scooter that meant so much to Chrystal was gone, in spite of it being locked.
Chrystal said that they do not have any inkling as to who could have perpetrated the crime, saying that her family has no enemies and that they keep to themselves. But she said that she’s noticed that there may be more crime in the city, which could have led to this.
She said that she is part of several local groups on Facebook, and she sees reports of thefts on there often. Mostly though, it’s bicycles, she said.
Still, Chrystal maintained positivity about the situation, noticing that in just two days the outpouring of support was there for her from the community. People on Facebook and in the neighborhood reached out to her, and when she posted the information about the stolen scooter on another Facebook group page in Springfield, they began to receive help from strangers.
“We have people scouring Craigslist for us. I didn’t think to check Craigslist and people were already checking it for us, it’s awesome,” she said.
If you have any information regarding the missing scooter, you can call the Westfield Police Department at (413)568-6285.
