Shropshire Star

This car was auctioned over and over again to raise money for a bereft family

The community came together to raise money for two children whose parents died in a motorcycle crash.

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People bid for a car which was repeatedly donated back to the family to raise money

A grieving family has been left astounded by several wonderful acts of kindness at a car auction in Alberta, Canada.

The family were left devastated earlier in 2018 when Brent and Nicole Keryluke died in a motorcycle crash. Their two children are now being cared for by their grandparents with the help of family.

To raise money for the children, both of whom have hearing impairments, the difficult decision was made to sell the 1973 Pontiac Parisienne their son had enjoyed working on.

But what actually happened when the auction got started astounded them and everybody else at Electric Garage Auctions, with the car being repeatedly sold and donated back to the family.

The car was initially bought for $29,000 before being donated back, where it was sold for $30,000 before being donated back again. It was then sold for $20,000 one final time before being given back to the family.

During the auction, others made individual donations to the family also, with around $100,000 reportedly raised in total, while the family got to keep the car, which has huge sentimental value.

“None of us knew how powerful the actual moment would be,” said Rod Burnett, the auctioneer, who also owns Global College of Auctioneering Ltd. “It was an amazing moment in everyone’s lives that was there.

“My faith in people grew somewhat that afternoon. It’s so moving because most of us have young families and I couldn’t imagine my kids being alone without me.

“The family couldn’t believe it. They are most appreciative and I think are still in awe from the public support of their family. I would say the message is, out of a massive tragedy such as this a positive is still able to be found.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for the family, and can be visited by clicking here.

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