A GoFundMe to support the wife and daughter of a West Springfield man who was killed in a car collision over the weekend surpassed $25,000 Tuesday afternoon.
On Saturday, Joshua McPherson, 34, was killed in a vehicle collision after a 46-year-old woman driving under the influence of alcohol on Interstate 90 in Ludlow crashed into his van, pushing it off the highway, prosecutors from the Hampden District County Attorney’s office stated.
McPherson is survived by his wife Ashley and one-year-old daughter Sophie, according to the GoFundMe.
Kaleigh White, a staffer at Palmer Motorsports Park, organized the GoFundMe page on Sunday with an initial goal of raising $25,000, according to the page. Two days later, the page has surpassed its goal by a little over a hundred dollars.
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McPherson was a vendor at the Palmer Motorsports Park, a racetrack in Hampden County, according to the GoFundMe page. There, he ran the Busters Food Truck along with his father.
“The food truck is [a] staple at Palmer whether you’re getting a breakfast sandwich or a yummy burger and fries,” White wrote on the GoFundMe page.
On Monday, White thanked the hundreds of donors who contributed money toward McPherson’s GoFundMe page.
“Thank you to each and every one who has opened your hearts to contribute to this family to reach our original goal,” she wrote. “Your contributions and shares are appreciated beyond words. The outpouring of love shows what a great human he truly was.”
The staff at Palmer Motorsports Park have celebrated his engagement, his wedding and the birth of his daughter, according to the GoFundMe page.
McPherson’s niece Vanessa Plamondon, 21, of Chicopee said she remembers her uncle as “a really hardworking guy, who loved his wife and kid and would’ve done anything for them.”
Plamondon said she met her uncle as a young child, as McPherson had been with her aunt Ashley since she was 17.
One of Plamondon’s favorite memories of her uncle was when she was a young child and she would paint his face with make-up. She also fondly recalls the moment when he helped her build her personal computer.
Plamondon said her uncle’s death has really “devastated” her family.
But, she expressed gratitude for the success of his GoFundMe page.
“It’s amazing that we have that many people that love Josh and supported him and are now supporting his wife and his one-year-old daughter, she said.
“And just shows you how much of a good person he was and how amazing he was [and how he] affected everyone’s life in a positive way,” she added.
