UPDATE: Iowa Realty Donation Helps Meet Goal to Bury Valley Student's Remains in Iraq

With help from several other Iowa high schools and Iowa Realty, students at Valley High School met their goal to raise the $15,000 it will cost to return a classmate’s remains to Iraq for burial, the Des Moines Register reports.

The students reached the goal Wednesday with a donation of more than $2,700 from Iowa Realty. Youths sold T-shirts and collected donations from other high schools, including Dowling Catholic, Southeast Polk, Wapello and Lincoln. Fairmeadows Elementary School also collected money during its annual school carnival, said the district.

The money will be given today to Valley student Husam Abdul-Hameed’s family. Husam died earlier this month when he was struck by a car. His family moved to the United States two years ago.

Our Earlier Story

An Urbandale man faces simple misdemeanor traffic charges in a March 3 accident that killed a Valley High School senior who had fled Iraq with his family for a better life in Iowa.

In a press release, West Des Moines Police said Marvin Dean Holstetler, 56, of Urbandale has been charged with failure to maintain control of his vehicle. Husamuldeen (Husam) Abdulhameed, 18, of West Des Moines was standing along Interstate 80 near the west mixmaster when he was struck by Holstetler’s vehicle, reports KCCI.com.

Husam was standing by a stalled vehicle that was parked on the shoulder of the roadway when he was struck, according to the press release. He was taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center and shortly after arrival was pronounced dead.

Husam and his family came to Iowa as refugees about a year ago. Valley High School students have been raising money to help the family send Hameed's remains back to Iraq for burial. The school will accept donations until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 14. People wanting to help can drop off donations to the office at Valley during regular office hours next week (7 a.m. to 4 p.m.) through Wednesday.

According to the family, the cost of sending Husam home to Iraq is about $15,000. As of Monday, the students have raised more than $5,000 and have gotten word from other student council groups and community groups from around the state wanting to make donations, the district said.

Police said their investigation showed Hostetler was not intoxicated by drugs or alcohol and was not operating the vehicle in a reckless manner. Investigators concluded that "Hostetler caused this fatal crash by being inattentive to the roadway and failing to maintain control of his vehicle," according to the press release.

If found guilty of failure to maintain control of his vehicle, Hostetler faces a fine not to exceed $625 and/or 30 days in jail.