ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Friends of an Allentown woman have launched a GoFundMe campaign to support her after she lost both her father and her 18-year-old son within a matter of days.
The fundraiser had collected $16,125 as of noon Wednesday.
Leidy Gonzalez traveled to Colombia on July 16 following the death of her father to be with family and attend his funeral. While there, she received word that her son, Kenneth Aristizabal, had died in a scooter crash in Allentown.
“In just a few days, Leidy has suffered the unimaginable loss of both her father and her son,” organizers wrote on the campaign page. Instead of remaining in Colombia to complete her father’s post-burial services, Gonzalez is returning to the United States to lay her son to rest.
The campaign, posted in both English and Spanish, asks for donations of any amount to help ease the financial burden so Gonzalez can focus on grieving with her family. Organizers say those who cannot donate can help by sharing the campaign and keeping the family in their prayers.
Donations can be made on GoFundMe.
Aristizabal, 18, died Monday after the gas scooter he was riding crashed into an embankment along Trout Creek, according to the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office. He was pronounced dead at 7:11 a.m. at the scene near the 320 block of West Brookdale Street, Coroner Daniel A. Buglio said.
Aristizabal was traveling south from Wabash Street onto South Race Street in an apparent attempt to cross Trout Creek where a bridge previously existed, the coroner’s office said. The scooter failed to clear the creek embankment and crashed head-on.
An autopsy completed Tuesday determined the cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma, and the death was ruled an accident, Buglio said.
He was not wearing a helmet, according to the coroner’s office. The Allentown Police Department is investigating along with the coroner’s office.