Minsterley tragedy: Appeal for toddler’s family sees £900 raised in just 10 days
An appeal to raise £2,000 for the family of a toddler killed in a tragic accident in Minsterley just before Christmas has almost reached the halfway mark - just 10 days after it was launched.
Mum-of-one Sarah Stephenson, from Bishop's Castle, set up an appeal following the death of Stelios Karsas who died after being hit by a car, believed to have been driven by his father, on a garage forecourt in the village near Shrewsbury.
She was so moved by the story of the tragic 19-month-old that she decided she had to do something to help the family.
And she hopes that the money raised will go towards the funeral costs and also help out the family, who ran the Friends fish and chip shop in Minsterley – outside which Stelios was killed on December 21.
Frantic passers-by tried in vain to save Stelios's life but he died at the scene of the accident which happened at around 11am.
On her crowdfunding page, Sarah said: "Let's give this family something that will help ease the pressure after such tragedy.
"I know money won't take away the pain or help them move on any quicker but it may allow them to take their two remaining children away on holiday somewhere nice and for a short while, get back a bit of positivity in their lives."
She added: "The response we have had to the appeal has been fantastic. We have nearly reached £1,000 which is brilliant.
"It is difficult to say what the family will do with the money but this appeal has proved that people do care and that is the main thing.
"We have had some big donations to the appeal. A local shoot syndicate gave us £200 and the Minsterley rangers Football Club gave £100. But whatever we have been given has been so kind.
"The appeal has captured the imagination of people who heard about the accident. Hopefully by the end of January we will have reached our target. We have done fantastically well so far and I hope this can carry on.
"Having a child makes you think differently about things. It changes you as a person."
Stelios was hit by a Hyundai Santa Fe 4x4 believed to have been driven by his father, who is also called Stelios.
An inquest into the toddler's death opened last month and a full hearing will take place on March 27.
West Mercia Police have appealed for witnesses to the incident. Anyone with information can call 101, quoting incident number 245s of December 21.
To see the crowdfunding page visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/karsas
