Nearly $500K raised after siblings killed in wrong-way crash
WHITEVILLE, La. (AP) — An online fundraiser had brought in $561,617 as of Wednesday — more than its $500,000 goal — for a Louisiana family that lost three children in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 49.
The money was donated to the Simmons family following the Friday night wreck in St. Landry Parish that claimed the lives of three siblings and critically injured two others in the vehicle.
Louisiana state troopers said a pickup truck driven by John Lundy, 54, of Dallas, Georgia, hit their SUV near Whiteville. Lundy, the only occupant in the truck, was pronounced dead at the scene.
About 12,000 people had contributed to the GoFundMe drive in smaller increments of $20 or $100 to as much as $10,000, news outlets reported.
Katie Simmons DeRouen, the older sister of the victims, told The Advocate she started the fundraiser as a way to make the situation “even .000000001% better” for her parents in the “very dark days to come.” Her mother, Dawn Simmons, was injured in the crash and was in critical condition.
“The outpouring of love and support is just astonishing,” DeRouen wrote in a Tuesday post on Facebook. “I am in awe of how God is showing up during this storm. My mom is so worried about returning to work — of course — and I was trying to explain to her that she REALLY won’t have to worry about that for a long time. She just kept asking if it — the GoFundMe — was real. Guys, just LOOK at how amazing this campaign is. It brings me to tears because my momma deserves the WORLD, and I know that she will be able to have at least one less thing to stress about.”
John Dalton Rohr, a photographer and former Mississippi State University track and cross country competitor, was listed as a “Top Donor.” He used his social media presence to encourage others to give to the online...