Community rallies to help family hurt in crash
Deanna Baugh, 37, and daughter Claire, 14, were injured in a Wednesday evening crash. The family is pictured in a photo shared on the crowdsourcing page GoFundMe after a campaign was launched to help the Baughs with medical expenses.
Photo via GOFUNDME.COM
A Bonner County teen is in critical condition after the car she was in was struck head-on Wednesday evening by a vehicle that had crossed the center median.
Her mother, Deanna Baugh, 37, of Cocolalla, was transported to a local hospital by ground ambulance with serious injuries and a badly broken leg. Claire, 14, was transported by Life Flight first to a local hospital before being flown to Children's Hospital in Seattle in critical condition.
The driver of the other vehicle, a 78-year-old female driver from Coeur d’Alene, was also injured and transported to a local hospital with unspecified injuries.
Idaho State Police said the Coeur d'Alene driver was southbound in a Hyundai Santa Fe on U.S. 95 near milepost 447 at about 6:35 p.m. when she crossed the center median, striking the Cocolalla family's northbound Toyota Avalon head-on.
All occupants of both vehicles were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, which blocked the highway for nearly three hours.
To help the Baugh family, friends have launched a GoFundMe page to help them with medical expenses.
"This tragedy is going to put them in tremendous financial burden along with many other expenses such as travel to and from the hospital in Seattle, where Claire is expected to be for weeks to come," friend and campaign organizer Robyn Whipple posted on the campaign's fundraising page. "They are looking at months of recovery and the possibility of many future surgeries."
Whipple said Deanna Baugh and her husband, Southside Community Church pastor Joseph Baugh, have three other daughters at home. The family is facing months of recovery and medical and other expenses are expected to place a significant financial burden on the family.
The goal of the campaign, which has raised more than $23,000, is to help the family with travel to and from the Seattle hospital where the teen is expected to undergo treatment for at least several weeks. As of Thursday evening, the campaign pushed past its first goal of $15,000 and organizers later reset the goal to $40,000.
"Please help them as you feel led as any and all contributions will be a tremendous blessing to them," Whipple said on the page.
The GoFundMe campaign can be found at bit.ly/4fj9ikQ.