Schaumburg dealership donates Ford to Naperville veteran
A Naperville veteran who's getting a free house built for his family now has another reason to be thankful.
Army Spc. Tony Chobanov got a free car on Veterans Day from Bob Rohrman Schaumburg Ford, giving his family their own set of wheels for the first time in more than a year.
Chobanov, 32, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury from serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. He's struggled to adjust since returning in 2008, and his family's finances are a constant challenge.
But now, thanks to one of several suburban dealerships run by Army veteran Rohrman, a car payment won't add to the burden.
The dealership handed over the keys to a 2016 Ford C Max, a hybrid that usually sells for at least $24,000. Chobanov, his wife, Abbey, and their three kids left with all fees paid and a full tank of gas for the drive back to the home they're renting in Naperville.
The family won't be living there for long, however, because an Arlington Heights-based nonprofit called A Soldier's Journey Home is building them a house on a 1.3-acre lot in Spring Grove. The house, on a quiet, semirural lot where Chobanov should encounter fewer stressors to trigger his anxiety, is expected to be complete by June.