Fund Created to Help Humboldt Bus Crash Victims and their Families

Days after a FedEx truck crashed into a tour bus headed to Humboldt State University, killing 10 people — including five Los Angeles area high school students — and injuring others on board, a fund has been set up to provide assistance to victims and their families.

Set up by Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino’s office and ShareFest, the Humboldt Bus Crash Victims Assistance Fund raised $5,000 in its first eight hours, and received a $10,000 donation from Occidental Petroleum.

The money will help families of the victims, who were on their way to student orientation at the university, pay for medical, funerary, and other costs in the wake of the crash.

“The fund will be used towards assisting the victims and their families in whatever their needs are,” said Buscaino’s communications director Branimir Kvartuc, adding that the students on board came from low-income families.

Two Banning High School seniors, Karen Duarte and Jonathan Gutierrez, were injured in the crash. Enough money has been raised to cover the cost of facial surgery Duarte will undergo tomorrow.

“She was sleeping during the crash and she has fractures in her face. Her insurance isn’t covering [her facial surgery], so we’ve raised enough money to pay for it,” Kvartuc said. “We’re hoping we can raise a lot more so we can help with some of the funerals.”

The fund came together after Buscaino’s office was able to get a flight donation from American Airlines to fly Duarte’s mother to Northern California to be with her.

“We urge everybody to contribute, whether it’s $5 or $10 or whatever, because it will go to families who really need it to maintain some sort of semblance of normalcy in their lives following a hugely tragic situation,” Kvartuc said.

To make a donation to the Humboldt Bus Crash Victims Fund, visit sharefestinc.org/buscrashfund. Checks can be made payable to ShareFest with “Humboldt Bus Crash Victims Assistance Fund” in the memo line and mailed to:

ShareFest Community Development
3480 Torrance Blvd. #110
Torrance, CA 90503