The crash occurred on Saturday, Aug. 29 in Pike County, Ind.
Credit: GoFundMe
NEED TO KNOW
- Amanda Wertman and her 8-year-old daughter Michaela were killed in a car crash while driving home from a Girl Scouts trip
- Four other children were critically injured in the crash
- Verified fundraisers have raised over $70,000 combined to support the families of those involved
A mother and daughter were killed, and four children were injured, in a car crash on Saturday, Aug. 28 in Pike County, Ind.
Amanda Wertman and her 8-year-old daughter Michaela died in the accident on State Road 64 at County Road 1000 East on Saturday, according to local outlet WFIE. Four other children were critically injured in the collision, which authorities say involved a person who was fleeing from police, according to the Evansville Courier-Press.
The family of an 8-year-old girl named Oaklie Disney publicly identified her as one of the four injured in the crash. The identities of the other three have not yet been shared.
“Indiana State Police crash reconstruction investigators are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash involving two passenger vehicles,” Indiana State Police wrote in a statement on Facebook on Saturday.
Oaklie’s mother, Elizabeth, told WFIE that the group was driving home from a Girl Scouts trip to Holiday World in Santa Claus, Ind. at the time of the crash.
Genny Rowe, a cousin of Wertman’s husband, Simon Wertman, created a GoFundMe to support Wertman and Michaela’s surviving family members, including Wertman’s 5-year-old son Theodore.
“On top of this unimaginable grief, Theodore is also recovering in the hospital himself,” the fundraiser description read. “This is an incredibly painful and overwhelming time for Theodore and his family as they try to process so much loss while also facing the practical burdens that come with it.”
As of publication, the fundraiser for the Wertman family has raised over $53,000 of its $80,000 goal.
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A fundraiser established by Jordynn Neese, who described herself as a friend of Oaklie’s mother Elizabeth, also started a GoFundMe fundraiser to support the 8-year-old’s family as she recovers from her injuries at Louisville Children’s Hospital. Oaklie experienced two brain bleeds in the crash, according to Neese.
“Her parents, Christian and Elizabeth, are by her side as she receives the care she needs, staying close to their little girl during this incredibly scary and uncertain time,” Neese wrote in the fundraiser description. “No family is ever prepared for something like this, and the emotional weight of watching Oaklie go through such a serious medical emergency is more than anyone should have to carry alone.”
The fundraiser for Oaklie’s family, verified by PEOPLE, has raised over $17,000 of its $26,000 goal, as of publication.
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