GoFundMe Hub Raises Nearly Half a Million Dollars for Families of DC Plane Crash Victims

A GoFundMe hub has been created to support the families of those who died in the DC plane crash. The hub has raised almost half a million dollars in just 14 hours.

The page collates separate appeals for plane crash victims, and so far includes Casey Crafton, Wendy Jo Shaffer, Mikey Stovall, Justyna Beyer, and her daughter Brielle.

Casey Crafton, a husband and father of three, of Salem, Connecticut, was flying home Wednesday from Wichita on the ill-fated Flight 5342. He was only part of the way home as Washington D.C. was only meant to be a stopover. So far, $8,185 has been raised on his behalf and proceeds are going to his now-widowed wife and three children.

Nathan, husband and father to “two beautiful boys aged three and one”, now mourns the loss of his wife, Wendy Jo Shaffer, who was on board the American Eagles plane. Funds raised on the hub for the family have totaled $242,593 and will go towards “funeral expenses, childcare, education, and the day-to-day needs of the family as they adjust to life without their beloved wife and mother”.

In Wichita, Kansas City, a family is mourning the loss of Kiah Duggins, described as “a radiant light, a brilliant mind, and a fierce advocate for justice”. Duggins was a Harvard-trained civil rights attorney who dedicated “her life to fighting for freedom, equity, and the liberation of marginalized communities”.

Mother and daughter, Justyna and Brielle Beyer were identified early on as they had been traveling home from a figure skating competition – an event 12-year-old Brielle had been competing at in Wichita. Brielle “had dreams as big as the sky”, while her mother reportedly “sacrificed so much to provide for Brielle's future as an Olympic figure skater”. Their fundraiser has raised $39,588.

The hub continues to be updated as more details of the victims emerge.