GoFundMe raises $25K for family of Butler County boy killed in bus stop crash

Donations poured in Tuesday from around the country in support of the Butler County family coping with the death of their 11-year-old son, who died after being struck by a car while waiting beside his siblings for their school bus.

Mark Fike, 11, died at Butler Memorial Hospital on Monday morning, shortly after he was hit by a car whose driver apparently was impaired by sun glare on Pine Road near Geibel Street, directly across from the Fike family’s house.

His sister, Lyssa, 9, was treated for a bruised ankle. His brother, Ryan, 6, is recovering after a head injury that required several stitches, police and family members said.

More than $25K in less than 24 hours

A GoFundMe campaign set up by Sara Sherrin, Mark’s aunt, reached its $25,000 goal in less than 24 hours.

“This loss has been so unexpected and painful,” Sherrin, who lives in Little Elm, Texas, wrote in the description of the online fundraiser.

Those who knew him celebrated Mark, the family’s oldest brother, as a smart, curious and adventurous boy with a positive spirit and a big heart. He attended Summit Elementary School, about a five-minute drive from the bus stop.

“Mark was such an amazing young man. Great big brother,” Sherrin wrote. “He loved the outdoors and catching critters of all kinds. His precious life was cut short. Even if you can’t help support the family financially, please lift them up with prayer.”

About $13,000 had been donated by Tuesday morning, more than $23,000 by 6 p.m. and $25,680 as of 9 p.m. More than 460 people donated amounts ranging from $5 to $1,500.

Many donors wrote comments expressing sorrow and sympathy for the children and their loved ones, and some also expressed empathy for the driver.

Backlash against the driver on social media prompted Mark’s mother, Margaret Kean Fike, to urge everyone via a Facebook post to “back off,” saying that she knew the woman who was driving the car and that the incident was an accident.

Sorrow all around

Police say the crash was caused by sun glare that prevented driver Gina Kibbie, 38, of Butler from seeing the children. She worked as a paraprofessional at the Butler Area School District and knew all three children.

Officials said they were not yet sure whether the children were sitting or standing when they were hit. There is no sidewalk separating the snow-blanketed field bordering the bus stop from the sloped roadway at the curved intersection.

Mark was rushed by ambulance to Butler Memorial Hospital with plans to fly him to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, but he never made it there. His brother, Ryan, 6, was flown to Children’s Hospital.

Ryan “sustained injuries that had him in critical condition most of the day, and Lyssa was thought to have broken her ankle,” Sherrin wrote.

Turns out, 9-year-old Lyssa’s ankle was not broken, just badly bruised. The swelling on Lyssa’s ankle had gone down by Tuesday, and Ryan “got 7 stitches in his head, but his scans are all clear and he is doing well,” Sherrin wrote.

“Thank you all so much for your continued love and support,” Sherrin said Tuesday in an update posted to the family’s GoFundMe page. “Your prayers are being felt.”

State Police Trooper Dan Kesten said that police and crash investigation officials are continuing to investigate.

Natasha Lindstrom is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Natasha at 412-380-8514, nlindstrom@tribweb.com or via Twitter @NewsNatasha.