Abilene mother outraged after salesman takes daughter with Down Syndrome to dealership to buy car

ABILENE, Texas ( KTAB/KRBC ) – Abilene resident Angie Martin is a working mother of seven. She came home Tuesday night to a disturbing scene: her third youngest, 27-year-old Hope Martin, was nowhere to be found. Hope is diagnosed with Down Syndrome, and her mother has full legal guardianship over her. She was notified that a salesperson with All-Star Honda had picked up Hope and driven her to the dealership.

Martin says she was beside herself as to how it could have happened.

“My heart’s beating faster just thinking about it. I got a text from her father, and he was like, ‘I got a couple texts from someone at Honda.’ She had apparently called them multiple times and said I want to buy a car,” Martin told KTAB/KRBC.

Hope’s desire to drive is something she and her mother have discussed before. Martin says she believed she had adequately conveyed to her daughter that the decision was not up to her but rather to State motor vehicle institutions, so hearing that Hope had carried out this plan and the salesperson did not ring any alarm bells was upsetting.

“As you are as a mom, I was so angry that this had happened and that a strange man would have the audacity to come and take my daughter, who obviously is cognitively impaired, out of my home without my consent, let alone to do something so drastic,” said Martin.

Her initial outrage with the young salesman soon subsided, with Martin saying she does not hold him responsible for the way he dealt with the admittedly difficult situation. She holds the management mainly accountable arguing that situations like this should have a prescribed method of navigation.

“You and I have inhibitions and limits and when we start to stray outside of them, we’re aware of it. Hope doesn’t have those. I provide that externally for her … I’m always trying to thread that needle between her rights as a human being and her safety,” Martin said.

KTAB/KRBC spoke with the vice president of All-Star Honda, Nicholas Varela, to shed some light on their handling of the incident. Varela says it is not uncommon at the dealership for their associates to provide transportation to potential customers if they call as Hope did. Varela issued the following statement:

At All-Star Honda, we pride ourselves on our commitment to serving every customer with respect, dignity, and fairness — free of discrimination of any kind. Recently, an incident occurred that we feel it is important to address directly.

“We are prohibited by law to discriminate or refuse service to anyone based on their membership in a protected category, as outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act. We are currently addressing this matter internally to ensure that we uphold the highest standards of inclusivity and respect. As a family-owned dealership, we do our best to act in the best interest of our customers and deeply regret any harm this may have caused. We apologize for any concern this may have caused and appreciate the community’s understanding and support while we navigate this matter.”

Nicholas Varela, Vice President – All-Star Honda.

Varela states that management feels they would have been in violation of Hope’s civil liberties if they had decided independently that she was not fit to make those decisions on her own, adding that staff did contact Hope’s father and no transaction took place without a parent or legal guardian present.

“What legislation attempts to do is to call us to a higher standard, not give us an excuse for our failures. That’s not why it exists … I’m sure that they’re on the learning curve and that they’re rethinking things and examining things and I think that good will come of this,” Martin responded to the statement.

Martin says that initially, the dealership seemed to be “self-protective” in its messaging, stating that its response to her at the time did not align with what she feels would have been the common-sense action to take.

“[They told me] That their job is to sell cars, Hope wanted to buy a car. Their job is not to discern whether someone is capable of buying a car, which brings up so many alarming questions like what about someone with dementia?” said Martin.

Martin did call Abilene Police hoping for guidance through the situation. She says officers consulted with their own special needs experts at the department and stated that “kidnapping is not kidnapping if someone agrees to go willingly.” While she says she disagrees given that Hope cannot legally make major decisions, she says she was thankful for their guidance.

Hope was picked up from the dealership by family a few hours after arriving. Martin says she has already spoken with her about the gravity of her decisions and is planning to change her schedule and phone privileges in response.

“What would I change going forward? What do I want out of this? I want our community to do better to do right by our people with additional needs …They deserve to move about our community with some freedom and some safety and a lot of support,” Martin said.

Varela says in response to the incident that dealership sales staff will be educated on appropriate procedures in these types of situations, leading to better outcomes in the future.

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