Community fundraising for P.E.I. boy injured in buggy accident

The Wheatley River community is rallying around an 11-year-old boy and his family after he was in an accident involving a horse-drawn buggy and car. 

The boy was a passenger in the buggy, and was airlifted to the IWK in Halifax with serious injuries.

The collision happened on Route 224 near Ebenezer at about 9 a.m. The boy was one of five people treated in hospital on Tuesday. Four of the five people sent to hospital had been in the buggy and were all family. The other person was the driver of the car. 

Both the buggy and car were travelling east and were on the downside of a hill, when it appears the car hit the back of the buggy, police said. 

"The child was transferred to the IWK where he remains," said Sgt. Craig Eveleigh with Queens District RCMP.  

"I haven't heard any updates with regards to the child's condition," he said on Wednesday. "Nothing that the family wants to release at this time."

Eveleigh also noted that the others who were treated in hospital were released later on Tuesday.

When something in the community happens I think, you know, you need to come together.— Xandra van der Geer

A community fundraiser for the boy and his family is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Wheatley River Community Hall.

Xandra van der Geer, the fundraiser's organizer, is asking people to come listen to holiday music, eat treats, and donate money for the family. 

'Overwhelming' community support

"When something in the community happens I think, you know, you need to come together, and that's what I tried to do by this fundraiser for the family," van der Geer said.

She said the community response within the first 24 hours of the accident has been "overwhelming."

"When I went to bed I had about 60 people who were interested and all were commenting," she said.

"This morning I woke up and I had 100 people coming and now it's at 130." 

She said some people who won't be able to attend the event have already started to make donations.

People have generally been contributing about $50, van der Geer said, but she hasn't set a specific goal for the fundraiser.

Beyond just the money, van der Geer said she hopes the community's support sends a message to the family.

"That they are just as important as everybody else in our community, that we care about them, and that we love to have them around here," she said. 

"And also hope that people just slow down on the roads and that we have to share the roads together."

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