In an ironic and scary twist to the conclusion of last week's NAPT Summit in Portland, Ore., an attendee from New York learned first hand, or more aptly first foot, what it can be like to have a disability after being hit by a car.

Joe Van Aken, treasurer of school transportation workers union ISTWU Local 426 in Brooklyn, was walking with a group from the conference hotel to the city's Trimet public transit rail car on the way to a closing-night banquet hosted by NAPT and IC Corporation on Nov. 7 when the freak incident occurred. He told School Transportation News that he was twirling his rental car keys in his hand while crossing the street when the key ring broke and sent both keys flying into the street. He began to scurry about to pick them up as the rental car agency had told them it would cost $300 to replace them.

In the meantime, unbeknownst to Van Aken, the light at the intersection had turned green for oncoming traffic. He said he heard Launi Schmutz, one of NAPT's directors-at-large, yell, "Joe, car!" Instinctively, Van Aken dove for the sidewalk, but in the process a woman driving a 1998 Audi ran over his foot.

"If it was a bigger vehicle I'm sure it would have been a lot worse. If I didn't dive out of the way, then two people would have wound up in the hospital because I would have wound up right in her windshield and on top of her."

A couple of dozen witnesses ran to Van Aken's aid, many of them fellow NAPT attendees. The driver stopped, Portland police soon arrived to take an accident report and an ambulance transported Van Aken to a local emergency room for X-rays. The results were inconclusive due the amount of swelling, but doctors told Van Aken that he likely suffered a severe bone bruise. He was advised to later seek additional X-rays if the pain persisted as he might have suffered a hairline fracture.

The accident taught Van Aken a valuable lesson aside from making sure he crosses the street from now on before the light changes. His 17-year-old daughter has suffered from cerebral palsy since birth and just four years ago began to walk on her own.

"One of the things I speak about at these conferences is on special needs awareness. Let me tell you, being on the other side of the fence and having to travel from one side of the country to the other is both humbling and humiliating at the same time," he said.

Van Aken was forced to rely on the kindness of strangers plus airport personnel to make his way home to New York.

"Having to be wheeled around in a wheelchair through the airport and sitting there trying to get around on the crutches getting into the plane, it was just like, the things we take for granted sometimes are absolutely amazing," he added.