Fundraiser going strong for Uniontown family after fatal vehicle accident
Fundraising efforts have begun for a woman whose husband was killed in a vehicle accident that seriously injured one of their sons.
“It is truly devastating,” said Ashley Martinez of Smithfield, who organized a GoFundMe on behalf of her friend Jessica Pierno of Uniontown.
Pierno’s husband, Rob, was killed and her two children were injured in a crash in Menallen Township around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Police said the vehicle Rob Pierno was driving crossed the double-yellow line on the road and hit another vehicle head-on.
The couple’s elder son, 7-year-old Chase, is in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia. The younger of the two boys, Camden, 5, sustained cuts and bruises in the crash, and is expected to be released from the hospital soon, Martinez said.
When Chase was taken to the hospital, Martinez said, he was unresponsive because he’d suffered a brain injury. He also had fractures in both legs that required surgery on Wednesday.
On Thursday morning, Chase was taken off a ventilator and was responsive and his vitals were stable. A hospital therapist was able to assist him in sitting up, according to Martinez.
“After removing the ventilator, he (Chase) looked right at his mom and said, ‘Hi, mommy’,” Martinez said. “Today, he has told his mom that he loves her and is starting to communicate with the nurses as well.”
She said the full extent of his brain injury is still unclear, as Chase is having a difficult time focusing and his movements are uncoordinated.
Martinez said the family did not have life insurance, and Jessica will have to be off of work for an extended period as her children recover.
“Both boys are so strong and brave,” Martinez said. “They’re very resilient, and we are just extremely blessed that Camden’s injuries were minor and that Chase is responding the way that he is. God is very good.”
On Wednesday, Martinez started a GoFundMe page to help the family and provide updates on Chase’s recovery.
“As a wife and mother, I can’t imagine the pain that she feels,” Martinez said. “She is holding it all together for both of the boys, but has a very difficult path ahead of her.”
Within the first 22 hours of the fundraiser, nearly $40,000 in donations had come in, with a goal set of $50,000.
“I am blown away. It is a response that I never expected,” Martinez said. “The support of those that love Jessica, Rob and the boys and those that don’t even know them but still donate, just shows how amazing people truly are and how wonderful God is.”
Anyone interested in donating can go to gofundme.com and search for “Help for the Pierno Family.”