A fundraiser is being planned for a 15-year-old girl who sustained serious injuries in a devastating crash that killed her 17-year-old friend.
Keirsten Haynes was ejected from the vehicle she was a passenger in after it left the roadway on Upper Bench Road in the early hours of September 30. The driver of the vehicle Logan Anderson-Fraser was also ejected and died later in hospital. The two other passengers in the vehicle received minor injuries.
“She’s already undergone two surgeries on her spine,” Ginette Schuk, one of the event organizers said. “She’s home now but she’s starting rehabilitation and there are other surgeries expected at the Vancouver Children’s Hospital. There’s a lot of cost that’s involved in all this.”
Keirsten suffered serious injury including the trauma to her spine, broken bones and damage to her mouth. Schuk said Keirsten is not paralyzed at this time but has minimal mobility and remains in wheelchair.
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Schuk has known Keirsten since she was a little girl and has known her mom Kelly Haynes for decades, she said.
She said Kelly Haynes just returned to work and that during the recovery time so far there hasn’t been a pay check coming so things have been tight. Keirsten’s father lives down at the coast.
“She just started back to work now because Keirsten’s home and she can work again. I know it’s been hard for all of them,” she said.
The fundraiser is to help offset costs related to Keirsten’s recovery.
“We wanted to do something to help them. This has been a hard time for our whole community and everyone is so generous,” she said.
The fundraiser is being held December 1 at the Branding Iron starting at 4 p.m. Tickets are $25 and includes an item off the pub menu.
The theme is Luau Hawaiian Style and there will be a surfing Santa.
Keirsten is expected to attend the event but won’t be there for long as she gets tired easily.
The fundraiser includes a silent auction, bean bag toss, ring toss, face painting, photo booth, door prizes and more. The event is family friendly but the dance starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets after 8 p.m. are $5.
Anyone who has a donation for the silent auction can drop it off at Hilltop.
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