Police lend a hand

Ellen McCarty

FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- Police officers presented a shiny red tricycle Tuesday

at City Hall to an 8-year-old girl whose bike was stolen in June.

“She doesn’t know she’s getting a new bike,” said her mom, Rebecca

Startup, before the special ceremony. “It’s going to mean so much to

her.”

The Utah Trike, specially designed to stretch the muscles of cerebral

palsy patients, was parked by a tree in the front yard the day it was

stolen.

“It’s not something a normal kid would enjoy riding,” she said. “It’s big

and heavy -- it would be like lifting a small couch. I don’t know why

anyone would want to steal it.”

Lara was crushed by the loss, her mother said.

“All summer she moped around, and every once in a while she’d turn to me

and say, ‘I miss my bike,’ ” she said. “But economically, we just

couldn’t afford to buy her a new one.”

When Rebecca brought Lara to the police department to report the stolen

bike, Officer Trung Nguyen took the report. He was so moved by Lara that

he took it upon himself to raise $800 to replace the tricycle.

Rebecca adopted her daughter, Lara, and her twin, Andru, from an

orphanage in Romania almost a decade ago after watching the plight of

children there on “60 Minutes.” Soon after the babies were brought to the

United States, Startup realized they had cerebral palsy, a physical

disability that causes the brain to send incorrect signals to muscles.

Andru’s condition is more severe than his sister’s and this year, he

entered the Hyland Home.

“I never would have been brave enough to adopt handicapped children,”

Rebecca said, showing pictures of her 11 children at her Fountain Valley

home Friday. “But Lara’s a character. She knows everyone in the

neighborhood from her adventures on her bike.”

Chief Elvin Miali presented the new bike to Lara on Tuesday. Nguyen’s

wife had a baby that day, Miali explained, so he was unable to attend the

meeting. “This is the same bike, but now it has a lock,” Miali said.

Lara smiled and looked at her mom.

“What do you say?” Rebecca asked her daughter, who replied shyly, “Thank

you.”

Riding her new bike around city hall, Lara gave a thumbs up to the crowd

and said to her mom about the balloons tied to it, “It’s decorated!”

Her big plans for this week: riding her new bike around the block to sell

chocolates for Plavan Urbain School. “Plavan’s colors are black and red,”

she said, adjusting her shiny red helmet. “And so is my bike.”

Rebecca smiled, “It’s really touching,” she said. “She’s so excited.”