Family of 3-year-old Regina boy wants stolen special needs car returned

A three-year-old boy with a brain disorder that causes brain development delay is hoping his special needs car is returned back to him.

Mason Rogalski was diagnosed with lissencephaly at six months old and was gifted a special needs car in November 2021 as part of the Go-Baby-Go Toddler Mobility program.

“It’s something that he can have fun with …  it’s something that he can do on his own without our help,” said Mason’s dad, Darcy Rogalski.

“Usually, he’s just rolling around … this is something that he can actually control and it’s fun. He likes it, (it) makes him laugh (and) makes him smile.”

That was until recently. This past weekend, Rogalski was in the process of moving to a larger home. While packing up the U-Haul, he left the electric car in the garage and dropped off his last load for the weekend. He then received a text message that the car was gone.

“My landlord texted me and told me the garage had been open for two days so I sent my brother over there to take a look and he told me the car was gone,” he said.

“I was not happy because it’s a big deal for him … I think of him (and question) why would somebody want to do that?”

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Without his special needs car, Mason is limited in what he is able to do. Rogalski made a social media post about Mason’s stolen special needs car that got over 2,000 shares.

“That definitely tells me that there’s a lot more good people than there are bad,” he said.

The marketing director of Go Baby Go said the program supports children living with limited mobility. When they heard that Mason’s special needs car was stolen, they were saddened that someone would do this to a child who needs it.

“For the very first time, for a lot of these kids, they’re like every other kid. And that’s their goal is to be accepted on the playground and to be like every other kid,” said Kari Richardson.

“We’re really excited to be able to help Mason or to get a car back for Mason … we’re willing to come back to Regina and do another car gifting for Mason. We would just like to have the partners on board to be able to do that. And let’s raise the funds so that he can get another car.”

The Childrens Foundation says they hope to work with partners in Regina to get Mason another vehicle if his is not returned back to him.

The Regina Police Service (RPS) confirmed in an email statement that a break and enter was reported to police on Feb. 7.

“The report says the B&E occurred sometime between February 5 & 6^th,” RPS stated. “Among the items reported stolen is a specialized accessibility Jeep.”

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