"Ultimately, it's a miracle that no one from Life Eldercare was hurt," she said. "However, unsure of the extent of the damage yet, they are desperately planning their plan B and plan C. They're expecting major repairs and want to be prepared to possibly rent vehicles." ||||| In Fremont, community members are stepping up to support the Meals on Wheels program after its delivery truck was hijacked on Thursday. Police say 45-year-old Reginald Nunn and 33-year-old Latu Tapueluelu have been booked on multiple charges It's a bold act that left many people stunned."How awful is this to happen?" said 75-year-old Meals on Wheels recipient Joyce Keiffer. "And to all of those people that needed that food."In Fremont, two people tried to take a car from a woman at Walnut Plaza but were unsuccessful. Following that failed attempt police say ran over to city hall and jumped into a "meals on truck" being stocked by volunteers."I was loading my cooler, I hear this screaming, I turn around and chaos," said volunteer Debra Powell. "I couldn't believe it, I thought I was watching a movie. I've never in my life experienced anything like that."Jose Feliciano showed up to deliver meals on Friday, not knowing what had happened."Having the truck to be stolen like that is just unthinkable, it's unbelievable," he said.The two suspects led officers on a pursuit from Fremont to Castro Valley, which not only ended in their arrests but also major damage to the truck, which is only a year-and-a-half old.Program officials say it'll likely be a total loss, and are now relying on a backup truck built in the 1980s."We have 380 people that we have to serve every day and they count on our meals, so we have to be here no matter what," said Dawn Tschaen with Meals on Wheels.The fire department will house the damaged truck until it can be officially assessed by the insurance adjuster.Regardless of the total amount, Meals on Wheels says they'll need to raise thousands of dollars.Meal recipients say they're grateful the program will press on despite the unexpected expense."A lot of bad things going on, and there are still good people, so we meet a lot of good people," said Meals on Wheels recipient Laszlo Ferenczy.Anyone who would like to help is asked to contact LIFE ElderCare's Executive Director Patricia Osage at 510-314-6365.
– Instead of delivering food to seniors in need, a Meals on Wheels van spent Friday in a "moderately paced" police chase with Bay Area cops, the Los Angeles Times reports. Volunteers for Life ElderCare were unloading the van behind Fremont City Hall when police say 45-year-old Reginald Nunn and 33-year-old Latu Tapueluelu hopped in and took off. They did so despite a volunteer's plea of, "Don’t take the truck; we need it for seniors' food." Police say Nunn and Tapueluelu were likely more interested in the Wheels part of the equation than the Meals, having attempted to carjack a different vehicle moments earlier. The couple allegedly led police on a dozen-mile chase through multiple cities. In the end, police disabled the van and arrested Nunn and Tapueluelu. Unfortunately, ABC 7 reports the Meals on Wheels van is likely out of commission for good, and the organization says it will need to raise thousands of dollars to replace it. "How awful is this to happen?" a 75-year-old Meals on Wheels recipient tells ABC. "And to all of those people that needed that food." Before getting boosted and busted, the truck was used to deliver 400 daily meals for senior citizens.