REGINA — A fundraiser has been set up to help a seven-year-old who was critically injured in a collision in northwest Regina last week.
The fundraiser is to support the family of Ben Dufour, who was injured the morning of June 21 in a series of collisions around the 200 block of Dalgleish Drive. According to Regina police, the driver of a black Dodge truck had crashed into several parked vehicles and two fences before hitting a house.
The GoFundMe online fundraiser was set up by Luanne Synk and Joey Synk and had a target of $75,000, but as of Monday afternoon there had already been a tremendous public response. The fundraiser was halfway to its goal, having raised $37,130.
According to the GoFundMe page, Ben had been standing at a bus stop with his brother Alex and two schoolmates when the collision occurred. He was airlifted to Jim Pattison Children's Hospital in Saskatoon, and his road to recovery is long. The GoFundMe site states the following:
"Ben’s list of injuries is long. He has a broken femur, broken humerus, broken pelvis, broken ribs, broken sternum, skull fractures and soft tissue damage to his c-spine, and the list doesn’t end there. He is currently stable and has undergone several surgeries, but the big unknown is the traumatic brain injury. Ben is currently in the Jim Pattison Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, where he receives exceptional care from the staff.
"Ben’s parents have been by his side 24 hours a day and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. We know that the recovery process for Ben is very long at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. Once he can return to Regina, frequent trips to Saskatoon will be necessary. We have been told that rehab for Ben will be a long and gruelling process."
Those wishing to donate can go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/our-sweet-little-benjamin?qid=8320602c83732a07f5a79710c7a9119c .
Charles Howard Raycraft, 47, of Regina, was charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm and impaired operation of a vehicle by alcohol or drug, causing bodily harm. Raycraft was scheduled to make his first court appearance on Monday afternoon.
