WATERVILLE, Maine — It's been a little more than a week since a car crash in Clinton changed the lives of a number of families forever.
Thomas Porfirio and Emily Baker, both 15 years old, died in the crash, which started as a nearly five hour-long joyride early in the morning, ending when the car hit a tree on Hinckley Road.
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Emily's 12-year-old sister, Ashlin, also passed away -- and passenger Nevaeh Wilson was seriously injured. The driver, an unidentified 16-year-old boy from Clinton, experienced non-life-threatening injuries.
The victims attended Lawrence Middle and High Schools, which have adopted a "Bulldog Strong" slogan to help friends and families through the tough times. This week, the greater Waterville area community is coming together, too, to help the families affected.
"As a mom, my heart is breaking," Kathleen Daddezio, the district manager for the Dairy Queen on Kennedy Memorial Drive, told NEWS CENTER Maine. "It’s just too tragic."
It's why after learning about the accident via social media, she was eager to support the owner's idea to hold a fundraiser for the families this week.
"Twenty-five percent of all of our proceeds for Tuesday and Wednesday sales are going back to the families," Daddezio explained eagerly, saying she's hoping for a big turnout both days between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. That's largely in part because of just how affected she says the community has been by the devastating loss.
"Some of our crew members knew the children that had passed. It's been hard, you know? A couple of them have spoken about it," Daddezio said. "We've had customers come in here that have spoken about it."
Word has also spread about 10 minutes across town at The Barber Parlor. Owners Tanya Lennon and Eric Signoreli also heard about the crash initially online and then decided to take action, sharing a Facebook post about their fundraiser this week.
"Within about 12 hours, our post was shared almost a thousand times," Lennon said. "Fifty-thousand people have touched our post thus far. It’s pretty amazing what we’ve been able to do."
Though The Barber Parlor is normally closed on Wednesdays, Lennon and Signoreli are opening it this week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. They say they are going to cut hair until they can't cut any more, and all proceeds will go to the families hurting.
"I have children," Lennon expressed, choking up.
"I can't imagine," Signoreli added.
"Nope, not at all," Lennon agreed. "Devastation for their families and their friends, their classmates, their teachers."
There are a number of other fundraisers happening in the community, too, to support the victim's families. Some of them include:
- "Benefit Dinner/Music for the Baker & Porfirio Families" on Friday, February 21 from 6-11 p.m.
- "Bulldog Strong" t-shirts on Etsy ($5 per sale goes to families)
Some locations for donations cans include:
- Aaron's
- Clinton Variety & Pizza
- Elm Plaza and KMD Hannaford locations
- Galusha's
- KMD Dairy Queen
- KV CrossFit
- The Robins Nest
- Scotty's Pizza & Variety
- Tradewinds Markets