CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An outpouring of community support came for a Charlotte mother struggling to visit her daughter in the hospital. It comes after police said the family’s only means of transportation was stolen.
An anonymous donor in Columbia, South Carolina, decided to give a car to the mother in need. She was able to make it down to Columbia to pick up the car due to Lyft cards donated by neighbors.
She said all the kindness has meant everything to both her and her daughter.
The mother of five previously told WCNC Charlotte thieves stole her car, leaving her no means to make it back and forth to the hospital where her daughter is battling a serious and rare form of leukemia.
Jacquelyn Gates Singleton said when we walked out of her Steele Creek home on Monday along Fenway Drive, she noticed her 2020 red Hyundai Santa Fe was missing from the driveway.
She immediately called the police to report her car stolen.
Singleton said not only was the car stolen, but also all the cherished personal belongings that were inside of it too, like her 20-year-old daughter Genesis' final arrangements.
“She is most definitely a warrior," Singleton said. "She was diagnosed last June with Leukemia AML which is a rare form of leukemia that attacks the bone marrow and blood.”
After several treatments, doctors say Genesis may not have much longer to live.
“She is the strongest person I know," Singleton said. “Try to be a mom and cherish moments and you’re left vulnerable with trying to depend on Lyft.”
Without her car, Singleton says she had been unable to make it to the hospital regularly to be with her daughter.
“Me leaving the hospital and her saying please, please mommy don’t leave," Singleton said. "I can’t really afford to say, 'OK don’t worry, I’ll be back in an hour.' So my transportation is major."
Deputies in Stanly County told Singleton they recovered her license plate and other belongings from the car tossed out on the side of the road. CMPD detectives also told Singleton they believe they may have found the accused car thieves, but so far the stolen car has not been found.
Contact Briana Harper at bharper@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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