LEANDER, Texas (KEYE) — A community in Texas comes together to help a 14-year-old boy after his entire family was killed in a car accident.
A GoFundMe account set up for him raised over $500,000 in just one day. By Friday evening, the total had already reached over $730,000.
It was supposed to be an exciting day for the Arvind family because they wanted to send their 17-year-old daughter Andril to the University of Texas at Dallas.
That changed suddenly on Wednesday in Lampasas when, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety, a vehicle with a flat tire veered into her lane and rammed her car.
Andril and her parents Mani and Pradeepa were killed along with 31-year-old Jacinto Gudino Duran, who was driving the car, and his 23-year-old passenger.
The Arvinds’ 14-year-old son, Adiryan, was reportedly attending high school in Leander and was unable to accompany his family on the trip.
Majeida Harvey-Guyton lives in Texas and she thinks the fact that everyone is standing up for the teenager says a lot about her community.
“We all come from the same community here and we need to work together and support each other because it takes a village,” Harvey-Guyton said.
KEYE has contacted the GoFundMe organizer and is awaiting a response.
Andril recently graduated from Rouse High School. In a letter to parents, Principal Vincent Hawkins said the “news has brought great sadness to our campus and has affected many in our community. Our thoughts and prayers are with Andril’s family and friends.”
Harvey-Guyton said her own children graduated from Rouse, adding that the news was painful.
“I am a mother of seven children. I have seven children and I couldn’t imagine losing any of them,” said Harvey-Guyton.
Petro Haida is new to Leander, but said he has experienced a lot of kindness in the few years he has been here.
“I think this is a great example of the community of Leander, how they treat people, how they want to support them,” Haida said. “They show that they are real people, right?”
He hopes that Adiryan will continue to receive support not only financially, but also in the holistic way he needs for his recovery.
“You’re with him, aren’t you? The new family is actually the community for him,” Haida said.
