Fundraiser launched after family loses car, source of income during I-74 fire

"We didn't just lose our car, we lost our source of income"

(ST. LEON, Ind.) – A family lost more than their car when it went up in flames on I-74 near East Central High School on Monday night. 

Kirsten Ragan and her family were passing through Southeast Indiana after they had visited her aging grandmother in Erie, Pennsylvania over the weekend. 

They were returning back to Columbus when things suddenly took a turn for the worse. 

“My oil light started flashing, and within 15-20 seconds, there was smoke everywhere,” she recalled. 

The car was fully engulfed and spectators at the Unified Track & Field event at East Central captured the incident on video.

Kirsten later found out that the incident was on the local news when someone had overheard their conversation at a Batesville restaurant. 

She reached out to The 812 and we were able to learn more about the situation. 

The vehicle was the family’s main source of income as they’ve been working as DoorDashers in Columbus and Bloomington.

They've been trying to save up money to move closer to family.

“Everything we owned was in that car as we were planning on moving soon to be closer to family,” she said. 

Now, that main source of income isn’t possible without the car. 

We encouraged her to start a Go Fund Me as some in our area might want to help out this struggling family.

She added that she never seeks help and feels a bit ashamed to even ask.

You can access the Go Fund Me by clicking here.