Fundraiser started after 5-vehicle crash ‘totaled' family's only car
The crash occurred on Wednesday, June 4, near the 600 block of West 29th Street. According to a San Angelo Police Department officer at the scene, the collision happened after a white Chevrolet Suburban traveling westbound on 29th Street crashed into a silver Nissan Sentra that was traveling eastbound on the same street.
The Suburban then left the roadway, striking a blue Chevy Colorado before continuing into a parking lot just outside of a nearby Cato Fashions store located in a strip mall. The vehicle then struck a silver Dodge Challenger, which in turn was pushed into a dark gray Dodge Challenger.
The SAPD told a Concho Valley Homepage reporter that the driver of the Suburban may have suffered a medical complication while driving, causing the crash. The motorist was transported to the hospital.
RELATED: 5 vehicle crash sends 1 person to the hospital
The fundraiser's webpage states that the family of four's sole car was 'wrecked and left totaled' due to the incident. Johnny Guinan, the fundraiser's organizer, said he now owes $15,000 despite the car's estimated value being 'only $5,000.'
Worsening matters for the family is their financial situation before the five-vehicle crash. Guinan stated on the webpage that an injury caused by a crash that occurred approximately one year ago has 'drained' the family's savings and forced him to switch jobs.
'We are just asking for some help getting a new car or getting ours fixed; any little bit helps,' the GoFundMe reads.
As of the time of publication, the fundraiser has garnered $25 for the family. To visit the GoFundMe webpage, click here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Post
17 minutes ago
- New York Post
Wisconsin teens would ‘still be alive' if not for sanctuary policies protecting alleged drunk-driving illegal immigrant
Advertisement An illegal alien from Honduras faces deportation after allegedly driving while intoxicated and crashing, killing two teenagers in Dane County, Wisconsin. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer against 30-year-old Noelia Saray Martinez-Avila, who was charged in the deaths of 18-year-old Hallie Helgeson and 19-year-old Brady Heiling. 'Hallie Helgeson and Brady Heiling had their whole lives ahead of them—and they would still be alive today if it weren't for Noelia Saray Martinez-Avila—a criminal illegal alien from Honduras,' Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. 'Martinez-Avila recklessly drove the wrong way on a highway while intoxicated and killed these two teens. 'ICE has lodged an arrest detainer to remove this public safety threat from the U.S.,' she continued. 'Unfortunately, this sanctuary jurisdiction has a history of not honoring ICE arrest detainers often leading to the release of murderers and other heinous criminals. Under Secretary Noem, these precious victims will not be forgotten, and we will fight for justice.' Advertisement 5 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer against 30-year-old Noelia Saray Martinez-Avila. 5 Noelia Saray Martinez-Avila, was charged in the deaths of 18-year-old Hallie Helgeson and 19-year-old Brady Heiling. Facebook 5 'Martinez-Avila recklessly drove the wrong way on a highway while intoxicated and killed these two teens.' Martinez-Avila faces charges of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, homicide by the use of a vehicle, operating a vehicle while intoxicated and causing injury, knowingly operating a vehicle with a revoked license while causing death, knowingly operating a vehicle with a revoked license while causing bodily harm, failing to install an ignition interlock device and violating a court order, among other charges. Advertisement The West Central Tribune reported that on July 20, Martinez-Avila was allegedly driving a Chevrolet Suburban the wrong way on I-90 when she collided with a Volkswagen Tiguan with Helgeson and Heiling inside. Helgeson, of Montevideo, died a short time after the crash, while Heiling was airlifted to an area hospital and treated for his injuries. 5 The West Central Tribune reported that on July 20, Martinez-Avila was allegedly driving a Chevrolet Suburban the wrong way on I-90 when she collided with a Volkswagen Tiguan with Helgeson and Heiling inside. Advertisement 5 Helgeson, of Montevideo, died a short time after the crash, while Heiling was airlifted to an area hospital and treated for his injuries. Heiling ultimately died of his injuries. The publication also reported that Martinez-Avila was convicted of drunk driving in 2020 and was required to have an interlock device installed in her vehicle, preventing the vehicle from starting if she had been drinking. The Wisconsin State Journal of Madison reported that the interlock device was not installed at the time of the crash last week. Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! Court records show that bond was set in the amount of $250,000 per case, and should Martinez-Avila post bond, she can only be released once pretrial services can outfit her with any necessary equipment. Martinez-Avila is also not permitted to consume or possess alcohol, operate a vehicle, or have contact with family members of the victims, among other things if released. DHS said ICE lodged a detainer for Martinez-Avila's arrest and removal from the U.S., noting that Dane County has historically not honored ICE detainers because of sanctuary jurisdiction policies.


New York Post
8 hours ago
- New York Post
Pennsylvania mom dies at daughter's softball camp after being crushed by falling tree branches
A Pennsylvania mom was killed while cheering on her daughter at the teen's softball camp when several branches suddenly fell from a tree and struck her in the head. Gendie Miller, 49, took shelter from the 90-degree heat beneath a tall tree alongside her husband, Bill, while they watched their 16-year-old daughter scrimmage in front of prospective college coaches at the Western PA College Showcase softball camp Thursday. 3 A Pennsylvania mom died after multiple branches fell on top of her at her daughter's softball showcase. GoFundMe While they were lounging beneath the old tree, Bill told WTAE he suddenly heard a loud cracking noise and hurried to usher his wife of 17 years away. 'I said to my wife, 'Let's go.' I jumped out of my chair, felt a small branch of some sort that grazed my leg. And I immediately turned to my right to look back at her, and she was face down with large, multiple branches and limbs,' he told the outlet. One of the branches hit Gendie's head. She fell unconscious and was pinned beneath the heap of fallen tree limbs, their daughter's softball coach wrote in a GoFundMe organized for the family. Many of the branches were between 10 to 12 inches thick, Bill said. Bystanders tried to help Gendie while emergency responders rushed to the scene. 3 Kendie and Bill Miller were married for 17 years. Facebook 3 Kendie was unconscious after the branches hit her and died in the ambulance. Facebook The crew loaded her into an ambulance headed to Forbes Hospital and was trying to evaluate if she could handle an airlift to a more advanced trauma center when she stopped breathing, according to the GoFundMe. Gendie was pronounced dead at Forbes Hospital. 'To be so traumatic, and with the heavy load of the type of branch and limb, it was devastating. And I can tell you that she didn't die from her heart, because her heart's too big,' Bill told the outlet. He said Gendie was a devoted mom who 'would never miss a practice or an event' regardless of what it was or how far away. 'That was who she was,' he said. All donations to the GoFundMe will go to the family to help lift the 'burden off of coming up with funds they don't have right now for something so sudden and unexpected,' according to the fundraiser.

Los Angeles Times
14 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Hotshot firefighter critically injured in Northern California blaze faces ‘long road,' family says
A hotshot firefighter who was severely injured by a falling tree while battling the nearly three-week-old Orleans Complex fire in Northern California faces 'a long road ahead — emotionally, physically, and financially,' as he recovers in a hospital, his family said. Renzo Reginato, a member of the Cleveland National Forest El Coriso hotshot team, was one of three firefighters injured in the July 18 incident in Siskiyou County, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Reginato, whose injuries were the most serious, was airlifted to Mercy Medical Center in Redding and underwent emergency orthopedic and neurosurgical procedures for a broken tibia and fibula and a traumatic spinal injury, according to an account posted on GoFundMe by his family. On Thursday, the family posted a photograph of Reginato smiling and giving a thumbs up in his hospital bed while wearing an El Coriso Hotshots ballcap. Reginato was fighting the Butler fire, the larger of two Northern California fires comprising the so-called Orleans Complex in rural Siskiyou and Del Norte counties. The Orleans Complex, which started amid lightning storms in early July, had grown to 22,362 acres and was just 22% contained Sunday, the incident command team overseeing the fire response said in a briefing Sunday morning. Firefighters faced difficult conditions Sunday as dry thunderstorms brought increased wind and threatened lightening strikes that could ignite new fires, according to the briefing. At least eight firefighters have been injured while battling the Orleans Complex and the Green fire in Northern California forests that are burning amid extreme heat in steep, bone-dry terrain. A minor injury was reported Saturday. One firefighter sustained a blunt force trauma wound July 12 while working the fire line on the Green fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, according to Deanna Younger, a spokesperson for California Interagency Management Team 10. That lightning-sparked fire had burned 19,002 acres and was 97% contained as of Sunday, according to the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Another firefighter suffered a heat-related injury the next day, she said. Both were treated at a hospital and released. Two firefighters working on the Orleans Complex were stricken with heat illness amid temperatures that topped 110 degrees, Paul Meznarich, a spokesperson for the multiagency team coordinating the response to those fires, reported on July 14. Nathan Judy, a spokesman for the Cleveland National Forest in Southern California, said he could not disclose firefighter names but confirmed that one firefighter hit by a falling tree while fighting the Orleans Complex on July 18 was airlifted to a hospital in Redding. One of the other two firefighters hit by the tree also was transferred, evaluated and then released, Judy said. The third was evaluated and released at the scene. According to the GoFundMe site for Reginato, he remained hospitalized in Redding pending a transfer to Craig Hospital in Denver, a nationally recognized neuro-rehabilitation center. The site said he 'faces a long and difficult road to recovery, supported closely by his fiancée and family.' 'Renzo has dedicated himself to the grueling and selfless work of firefighting,' it said. 'He trained, sacrificed, and showed up every day to protect lives and communities. Now he needs our support.' Though his medical treatment will be covered, the message said the family faces long-term expenses for travel, lodging, meals, and resources to help Reginato 'regain independence and adjust to a new way of life.' A fellow member of the elite El Cariso hotshots was quoted on the GoFundMe recalling the incident. 'We were cutting line and without warning, I heard someone yell, 'TREE!' and before I could react, I was hit in the back and rolled 5 to 10 feet downhill,' he wrote. As of Sunday, 1,924 firefighters were battling the Orleans Complex, which comprises the Butler fire and the much smaller Red fire. The Butler fire was first reported amid a lightning storm July 3, and has burned more than 22,000 acres in the Six Rivers and Klamath national forests. The Red fire, which started July 6, was more than 90% contained and had burned 116 acres in the Siskiyou Wilderness in Del Norte County.