Winning Spirit Magazine November - December 2018 | Page 16

COLORADO
United in Doing Good
Denver Dealers Come Together for Family Struck by Tragedy
Jarred Black, general manager of Larry H. Miller
Toyota Boulder, had seen the story unfold on
the news this summer. You couldn’t miss it. A
local Denver family was involved in a tragic road
rage shooting on the way to a dentist appointment.
The shooting resulted in the death of one of the
Bigelow family’s children, severe injury to another
child and his mother, and just a senseless tragedy
all around.
“As a father of four children and having a wife
that stays at home to take care of them, when I saw
this news story it gave me chills. My wife is always
taking our children to and from appointments and
“It was easy for me to
figure out a way to try
and give this family
something positive to
turn to.”
Jarred Black
General Manager
LHM Toyota Boulder
activities, and I couldn’t imagine something like
this happening,” said Black.
When Jarred received a call one morning
several months later, from Devin Schubert, general
manager at Larry H. Miller Nissan 104th, Devin
mentioned that his fiancé, Jill, was friends with
the Bigelow family. He told Jarred that the family
wanted to purchase a Toyota Sienna minivan and
trade in the vehicle that had been involved in
the shooting. Devin let Jarred know Mr. Bigelow
would be in that afternoon to look at the Siennas
on the lot and to purchase a vehicle.
As soon as Jarred hung up the phone, he
reached out to the Denver Toyota Dealers
Association and inquired what it would take to
get a car donated to this family.
“When I found out Mr. Bigelow was coming in
to purchase a vehicle for his family, it was easy for
me to figure out a way to try and give this family
something positive to turn to,” Black said.
“The father, Vaughn, Sr., lost one son, his wife
and another son were severely injured, and his
third son wasn’t injured physically, but he was
there to witness it all and impacted emotionally.”
When Mr. Bigelow arrived at the dealership,
Jarred greeted him and introduced him to sales
consultant Curtis Schaffert, who would help him
find a vehicle. While this was happening, Jarred
quietly worked behind the scenes on locating a
Toyota Sienna that would fit the family’s needs
and making all of the pieces of the surprise come
together.
Following Mr. Bigelow’s visit to the store,
Jarred called and let him know the great news, that
they would be delivering a free, brand-new 2018
Toyota Sienna minivan to the family on behalf of
the Denver Toyota Dealers Association.
Jarred and Curtis delivered the van to the
Bigelow’s home, had the opportunity to meet the
family, and even play some basketball with young
Asa, who’d just recently been released from the
hospital.
“I wanted to make this as seamless as possible
for the family and enjoyed delivering the van to the
comfort of their home,” Black said. “They had such
traumatic memories tied to that vehicle—I knew I
had to do what I could to help them as they worked
to move past this tragedy and start a new life.” ◆
14 LHM Winning Spirit November/December 2018