Total of donated funds for funerals of six teens is $42,600

Total of donated funds for funerals of six teens is $42,600

WARREN

Money from as far away as Los Angeles and Atlanta helped push the total of donated funds for the six teenagers killed in a March 10 car accident to $42,600.

Bob Dean, who set up the account at Huntington Bank to accept the money, said the money was distributed to pay for funeral expenses last week.

The teens drowned in a sport utility vehicle that overturned in a pond on Niles Warren River Road about a mile south of downtown. They were apparently on their way home at the time of the 6:56 a.m. crash.

The money was used to pay for a variety of funeral expenses, such as vaults and markers, though the grave sites at Pineview Memorial Park on Youngstown Road were provided by an anonymous donor, Dean said.

Other donated items included caskets, funeral programs and food provided by local restaurants to the families of the victims.

One of the single largest donations came from Believer’s Church, which provided $5,600, but most of the donations were in smaller amounts, Dean said.

The six pastors who oversaw the distribution of the funds decided to give $500 to each church that held a funeral service.

All of the families who lost a family member needed financial help, Dean said.

In the case of Alexis Cayson, 19, the driver of the car, both of her parents are in prison, Dean said, so there was little money available for her burial.