Police: Disabled woman left in locked, stuffy van

A partially blind and disabled woman grew hotter, hungrier and more scared while she was strapped into a locked medical transport van without air conditioning for more than four hours, the Broward Sheriff ’s Office says.

Carolyn Marie Roberson — who told deputies she can’t walk — is a dialysis patient who survived two strokes. The 57-year-old uses a wheelchair and can’t operate a cellphone, her daughter Shakira Breedlove said Friday.

Van driver Oscar Augusto Dorador, 38, told investigators he picked Roberson up from dialysis treatment in Tamarac and forgot she was inside his vehicle on Aug. 8. He parked the van at his residential community in Deerfield Beach, leaving Roberson trapped inside, the sheriff’s office said.

Dorador, who does not have a criminal record, gave his employer Ready2Transport a false address for his last stop, making it harder to find Roberson, an arrest report said. Efforts to reach Ready2Transport on Friday were not successful. The company has since

fired him, according to court testimony.

Breedlove, 38, of Lauderdale Lakes, said her mother told her that she knew Dorador was not taking her home, and asked where he was taking her.

“He never responded,” said Breedlove. “She asked him to take her home and he kept driving.”

As Roberson was sitting in the van, her nursing home called Breedlove to report she had not returned from dialysis treatment.

The nursing home director met Breedlove at the dialysis center, which was closed. Along with another sister, the women searched the dialysis center’s plaza, looking for Roberson.

At the same time, Breedlove said she was also calling LogistiCare, a transportation broker. She and her attorney Blake Dolman said LogistiCare subcontracts the patient ride service to Ready2Transport.

The night Roberson was missing, LogistiCare could not tell Breedlove where Dorador or her mother was, Breedlove said.

By 11 p.m., a security guard at Dorador’s community led deputies to Roberson, who was still inside the van.

Breedlove said the sheriff ’s office called and she reunited with her mother after midnight in the emergency room of Broward Health North in Deerfield Beach.

The company issued a statement that said it will cooperate with law enforcement. It said in part: “We apologize to Ms. Roberson for the issue she experienced. The driver has been removed from our network and is not allowed to transport any LogistiCare members.”

Robert Perez, LogistiCare’s senior vice president of client services, said the company does not hire the drivers for its transportation providers.

Since that night, Breedlove says her mother cries, and feels scared about her situation.

“She just doesn’t know who she can trust now,” Breedlove said.

Dolman, the family’s lawyer, praised nursing home staff, as well as the actions of the security guard who found Roberson.

“This is the type of thing that only happens to the most vulnerable people in our society: Children, the elderly or the disabled,” Dolman said. The family is considering legal action against the transportation companies, he said.

Dorador faces a charge of neglect of a disabled adult, without great bodily harm.

During his court appearance Thursday, Dorador’s wife of 15 years called him “an intelligent person, he is a kind, sweet person.” She told Judge Jackie Powell, “He’s never done anything to anyone, never meant any harm to anyone.”

Powell said of the investigation, “These are very serious allegations and the circumstances that have been presented to me today does give the court pause.”

She set a $15,000 bond, and Dorador was released from jail. Powell also ordered Dorador not to work in any capacity where he provides service to people with medical needs, and not to contact Roberson.

Breedlove said: “I have no idea what could have been going on. He left a helpless person in a car. You have somebody’s life in your hands. You cannot forget things like that, or tell us sorry.”