Waukesha parade victims who need wheelchairs are getting ramps thanks to a local contractor

By Lauren M. Johnson, CNN

After a driver rammed an SUV through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Brock Held knew he had to do something to help those in his community who were still hospitalized.

“I knew I had an idea that could help these people,” Held told CNN.

Held decided to start building wheelchair ramps for the victims who would be in need of one once they returned home. There are at least four ramps needed during the first round, but as victims begin to leave the hospital in the coming months, there will be a greater need.

He’s calling the endeavor the Nameless Builders Project and decided to construct the first one out of his own pocket, but others quickly caught on. Home Depot decided to donate all the building materials for the project and several other local businesses are donating as well.

“People are so generous that I already have enough to cover the materials,” Held said, and he’s been telling people to donate elsewhere.

Held has already been contacted by a wheelchair ramp company who is willing to donate their product to the families who need them.

Held said the project was a no-brainer for him because he was using a talent he already had through his contracting company. He chose an anonymous name so the focus would go to the mission and not his work.

“I’m not trying to name-drop my company, I have enough work, this is just a feel-good project,” Held said.

“I found myself telling myself: don’t vent about him on Facebook, don’t complain, don’t freak out. I’ve got to do something other than verbal. I literally just did what felt good.”

Held was in the process of making his second ramp for an 8-year-old boy who is leaving the hospital this evening.

“I love getting the community together and doing it for free,” he said.

Held is hoping to make the project a nationwide effort to help people in need.

6 dead, 62 injured in the tragedy

Prosecutors believe Darrell E. Brooks was the driver of the SUV and have charged him with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide. Brooks, 39, may face a sixth homicide charge over a boy who died Tuesday, they said.

Another 62 people were injured, according to a criminal complaint filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court.

Those killed were Virginia Sorenson, 79; Leanna (Lee) Owen, 71; Tamara Durand, 52; Jane Kulich, 52 and Wilhelm Hospel, 81, according to Waukesha city officials. The family of Jackson Sparks, 8, identified him as the latest victim on a GoFundMe page.

The Waukesha community turned out to mourn the victims at multiple candlelight vigils this week, expressing their support for those who lost loved ones.

And the Waukesha school district said it would offer additional mental health support for its students.

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CNN’s Kay Jones, Christina Zdanowicz and Aya Elamroussi contributed to this report.