Family needs help after wheelchair-accessible van totaled in Highway 24 crash

(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — An outpouring of support from the community has brought an overwhelming sense of gratitude to a family in need after their wheelchair-accessible van which their special needs daughter relies on for transportation, was totaled after an alleged drunk driver hit them head-on.

On Wednesday, March 27, Eric and Nancy Malan were driving home with their 8-year-old daughter, Lauren, on Highway 24 near Garrett Road, when suddenly, their van was hit.

According to the Colorado State Patrol (CSP), just after 8 p.m. that evening, an Audi A6 driven by 52-year-old Christopher Vogt of Colorado Springs allegedly accelerated rapidly from a stop on Garrett Road onto westbound Highway 24, where he first side-swiped a Ford F-150 before driving over the median and hitting the Malan family van head-on in the eastbound lanes.

“Every single airbag in our vehicle deployed,” Eric told FOX21. “I had to kick and push and beat on the door just to get out.”

Eric said first responders were quick to the scene after both he and his wife’s Apple watches dialed 911. “We were fortunate that some friends from church were actually a minute behind us,” and according to Eric, they were able to go to the Malan home to care for their three boys; ages 11, 13, and 15.

Pictures from the scene show the van’s damage on Highway 24.

“Our daughter was screaming her head off,” Eric said. “She was in her wheelchair strapped down securely in the center part of our van and so my top priority was to get back there, check on her, and try and find a way to get her out of the vehicle in her wheelchair,” Nancy added.

At the time, they didn’t know the extent of Lauren’s injuries.

“She is nonmobile and nonverbal so she couldn’t communicate anything with us,” Nancy explained, “other than through crying and letting us know that she was scared and hurt.”

Her pink wheelchair sat on the highway as it was captured at the scene in front of the totaled van. “There’s no vehicle that can actually handle taking her wheelchair and her, I mean her wheelchair is her mode of transportation,” said Eric.

Nancy and Lauren were both taken to the hospital, but Lauren’s injuries would be much more complex to understand. “Because without her being able to tell us and her body is unique from her genetic condition,” Nancy explained, “but what they believe is, that they found injuries to her knee and her arm, specifically to her elbow.”

Despite the trauma the Malan family endured, Lauren kept them strong.

“Lauren is a girl that has had to fight from day one,” Nancy said. “Emotionally and spiritually, she is the strongest little girl that will smile and laugh every day even if she’s in the hospital hooked on IVs—you will see smiles and laughter.”

Her dad, later arrived at the hospital to visit his wife and little girl.

“When I got to her, she was smiling and watching “Bluey,” and she was just happy and like nothing had happened, and that brought a lot of peace to me,” Eric remembered. “She’s just defied the odds, every single time.”

After the crash, the Malans knew it’d be a long road ahead.

“The wheelchair itself was damaged, the frame was bent… so with that, it’s not safe for [Lauren] to be in,” Eric said as he explained their van was also totaled.

The family turned to GoFundMe for help, receiving support from friends and family and even strangers. “I have never been humbled as much by the support we’ve received… and it’s incredible and it’s more than I deserve, but I know it’s what my daughter needs,” Eric said.

A wheelchair was even donated to the Malan family, and while Eric and Nancy are grateful for the act of kindness, they said Lauren’s wheelchair will need to be permanently replaced and hope that is covered through Medicaid.

“Everything on that wheelchair was specifically modified for her body, her capabilities, and even her speech device that she had attached to her wheelchair,” said Nancy who explained the donated wheelchair does not include the same modifications. “We are not able to attach her communication device to it, so she’s left without her voice,” Nancy said.

As for the family’s van, online donations have surpassed $30,000 since March 31.

“I am completely floured and so touched that people care enough to give,” Eric said. “We set the goal as $50,000 but vehicles, when we look at them, they are more up in the $75,000 range, for a handicap vehicle.”

But, yet another glimmer of hope, according to the Malan family, came through United Access.

“We have a rental van through them, and the rental vans are more expensive than just a regular vehicle,” Eric said as he explained their insurance only covers up to $50 per day, but the van itself was $150. “And, after talking with United Access they worked it out, to where they were only going to charge our insurance the $50 per day.”

Allowing the Malan family to drive a brand new vehicle off their fleet.

“It’s amazing knowing we have all these safety features to take care of our daughter and to take care of our family,” Eric said. “Now we just need to have our own vehicle that we own and not dependent on a rental, since that is a short-term solution,” Nancy added.

Despite their family’s road leading to an unexpected path, Nancy found the silver lining through her children.

“I tucked each of them into their beds that night like I do every single night, and hugged them and kissed them and told them how much I love them and I was so thankful that night that I got to do that again, that I’d been given this chance to keep living and to have our precious daughter’s laugh and smile still in our lives too,” Nancy said.

And when asked about the other driver, Christopher Vogt; “I’m glad that you’re alive and I am glad that this incident didn’t take any lives,” Eric answered. “But how tragic that his choices have been our consequences,” Nancy said.

According to CSP, the pick-up truck driver involved in the crash was a 49-year-old man from Peyton who only received minor injuries. Vogt, according to CSP, was not wearing a seatbelt and was seriously injured before he was taken to the hospital.

CSP said Vogt was given a summons to appear in El Paso County Court on several alleged charges including; DUI, No Seatbelt, Failure to Present Immediate Evidence of Insurance, Driving a Motor Vehicle when License was Under Restraint, Careless Driving Causing Bodily Injuries, and Open Container.

Through it all, the Malan family hopes to spread this message: “We’d like awareness for everyone getting behind a wheel to think about; there are people and families in these vehicles and to drive with greater caution and to definitely not get behind a wheel after drinking,” Nancy said.

If you’d like to help out the Malan family you can do so by clicking on the GoFundMe link above.

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