Paralyzed Saugus man gets gift of mobility from friends, family

SAUGUS – Steve Agneta finally got his van.The 53-year-old Saugus resident, who was left paralyzed from the chest down after a car accident when he was 17, has been without a van for nearly three years.But thanks to a group of close friends he?s had since high school, $29,000 was raised to buy a new one: a Ford E350 Super Duty that was overhauled and retrofitted with new hand controls and a lift.?I started driving it maybe a little less than a month ago, and it?s great,” said Agneta. “It?s 99 percent the same as my last one, so it?s like riding a bicycle.”When Agneta was 17, an 18-wheeler drove him off the road on Route 1 and sent his car into a utility pole.Agneta, who graduated from Saugus High School in 1978, severed his C5 and C6 vertebrae in the accident and spent a year in the hospital, followed by a year of rehabilitation.Around 10 years after his accident, Agneta got behind the wheel again in a specially outfitted van that allows him to control everything with his hands.However, in 2010, after 160,000 miles, Agneta?s van finally gave out. That left Agneta, who can frequently be seen up and down Hamilton Street in his motorized chair, without an easy means to get around town.As he sat in the parking lot of the Dunkin? Donuts on Hamilton Street Wednesday afternoon, Agneta showed off all the new controls. Everything from the horn, windshield wipers and blinkers are controlled with a flick of the wrist, while steering and accelerating are controlled with a pair of special handles in front of the steering wheel.An array of switches to the right of the steering wheel controls the lights, ignition, emergency brake and special chair lift while a special locking mechanism keeps Agneta?s chair in place while he drives.?It feels fantastic,” he said. “I?m building up my tolerance again and going slowly so I can get back to Route 1 and back up to highway speeds ? I?d be lying if I didn?t say there was a little bit of fear, but fear is good in my situation because I?m going the speed limit. I have not exceeded a single speed limit and I don?t intend to.”Agneta said the first place he drove was to his mom?s house in Saugus to show off his van and hopes to take his friends on a trip to New Hampshire when he gets more comfortable behind the wheel.Christine D?Eon, Linda Blake and Kelly Mahar-Pasternack spent the last two years holding fundraisers all over town for Agneta. On Wednesday, D?Eon said checks came in from all over town.?Our classes, we?re very, very close, ?77, ?78 and ?79, we?re all really kind of intertwined,” said D?Eon. “We sold calendars, raffles, people all over town donated ? I would get checks from little old ladies in scratchy little handwriting. Those were the ones that made me cry. They were for $10 and these people were taking the time to write personal little notes to Steve. It was absolutely amazing.”Agenta answered every single note he received and said he couldn?t be more appreciative of all the help he?s received.?I?ve got my independence back,” said Agneta. “I would ride everywhere on my chair every day. But it?s nothing like having a vehicle back. I can do so many things.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].