SHARE

Fake GoFundMe Removed As Community Rallies For School Bus Driver Dad Killed In I79 Crash

Pennsylvanians are rallying for two families who lost loved ones in a school bus crash along Interstate 79, but a fake GoFundMe campaign temporarily thwarted their efforts.

Lindsay Thompkins and the scene of the fatal school bus crash.

Lindsay Thompkins and the scene of the fatal school bus crash.

Photo Credit: PennDOT; GoFundMe (Shereka Simmons)

A school bus crashed into a tractor-trailer along I-79 near the Route 422 interchange in Butler County on Tuesday around 5 p.m., as Daily Voice reported at the time.

The bus was from Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center and was carrying 13 students all between the ages of 13 and 17, as Daily Voice previously reported.

A student, Brylee Walker, 14, was the student killed in the crash, according to a GoFundMe campaign page setup by surviving students on the bus and social media.

The bus driver, Lindsay Thompkins, 31, of Aliquippa, Beaver County, was also killed in the crash, as police told Daily Voice.

Unfortunately a GoFundMe campaign page for Thompkins’ family was falsely made by a user calling themselves “Bill Thompkins” as Lindsay Thompkins’ family pointed out in a Facebook post as well as reporting it to GoFundMe.

GoFundMe has since removed the campaign after approximately two days on the website, according social media posts.

The campaign page was “removed from the platform because it violated GoFundMe Terms of Service,” a spokesperson for GoFundMe told DailyVoice. The Terms of Service were updated Sept. 30, 2021, although it is not immediately clear what changes were made.

At the time of its removal the campaign had collected $735 from 26 donors, all of which has been refunded, according to GoFundMe.

"The fundraiser organizer did not withdraw any money and has been banned from our platform," a spokeperson from GoFundMe told Daily Voice Friday evening. 

A new GoFundMe campaign page has since been created by Lindsay Thompkins' sister and GoFundMe has verified that it is legitimate.

The real GoFundMe campaign has raised $2,383 of $10,000 goal in less than 24 hours.

Thompkins is survived by his two children, sister, a large extended family and numerous friends and colleagues, according to social media and the new GoFundMe campaign page.

He was an Aliquippa native and attended a local school where he played football, according to his Facebook.

Before becoming a bus driver, he was a police officer in Texas, according to his social media.

Funeral and memorial service details have not been release.

If you would like to donate to his family’s GoFundMe campaign you can do so here.

to follow Daily Voice Cumberland and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE