Pat Helbert sits in the doorway of his apartment, in a wheelchair that he had to borrow after his motorized wheelchair was stolen on Monday.

Monday was a bad day for Pat Helbert.

First he crashed his motorized wheelchair and then it was stolen, all in less than an hour.

“I’m very frustrated that this happened in my hometown of Lawrence, Kan., and it’s taken away my ability to do the things I needed to do,” Helbert said.

It all started when Helbert, who is paralyzed on his left side, was headed home to his southwest Lawrence apartment. While traveling on a sidewalk in the 2400 block of Wakarusa Drive, just south of Clinton Parkway, his wheelchair didn’t take well to a large bump.

The wheelchair tumbled over and Helbert, 53, was thrown out. He scraped up his knees.

“The way that ditch threw me forward, I could’ve easily busted out some teeth or broke my nose,” said Helbert.

He laid on the ground, not able to get up, for about three minutes, until a Good Samaritan named Ken stopped to help him.

But when Helbert tried to get the wheelchair to go again, it wouldn’t power up. So, the stranger gave Helbert a ride home in his car.

Helbert, who suffers from epilepsy and other complications from a stroke, said he called the city’s paratransit service to take him by the scene of the crash to help him with his now-disabled wheelchair.

When they got there, the $4,000 motorized wheelchair was gone.

“They had to be some pretty good-sized guys with a pickup truck or something, because with all those batteries that run the thing, the chair itself probably weighs about 250 pounds,” Helbert said.

Helbert called Lawrence police to report the theft about two hours later, a police report said. The wheelchair is black and red.

“Officers canvassed the area, but did not find any trace of the chair and found no suspects,” said Kim Murphree, police spokeswoman. “The victim reported the person who helped him was definitely not a suspect.”

Now, Helbert struggles to get around in a wheelchair loaned to him by Independence Inc. He can stand with a cane for only a few seconds and is confined to his apartment.

The theft has also left him with no way to check his mailbox or to get around his house with ease.

Helbert said he can’t afford a new chair and doesn’t know if it’s covered under his insurance, so he’s asking whoever took his chair to give it back.

“If they’d just return the chair to me, I won’t press any charges,” Hilbert said. “I just want the chair back, give me my mobility back, let me go do the things that I need to do.”

The theft happened between 12:45 p.m. and 1:45 p.m. Monday, police said. Anyone with information about the theft should call Crimestoppers, at 843-8477 (TIPS) or Lawrence police at 832-7509.