Special needs teen surprised with new tricycle after his was stolen last month in Sherman Oaks

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif. - A teen with special needs had his heart broken last month when thieves made off with his custom tricycle in Sherman Oaks.

Brian, 15, has Down syndrome and when his trike was stolen, his mother told FOX 11 that he was devastated because he loved three things in life: her, school and that tricycle.

She said his tricycle gave him the freedom to simply be a kid and the donated bike was truly the only material possession he loved and used.

The stolen trike was worth close to $1,400, which was something Brian’s mother, Serena, who is a single mother of three, could never afford.

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Good Day LA aired Brian’s story - hoping to help.

“We received a lot of phone calls, a lot of tips that we were able to follow up on, unfortunately, none of them lead to the specific bicycle,” said Los Angeles Police Department detective Justin Thomas.

In addition to the tips, dozens of generous people offered to help Brian, including The SoCal Honda dealers better known as the Helpful Honda people. They wanted to help.

On Thursday morning, Brian got a big surprise thanks to the LAPD and the Helpful Honda team.