Fundraiser Begun to Pay for 7-Year-Old's Funeral; Boat Driver Named (Update)

UPDATED at 3:45 p.m.

An online fundraiser has been set up to help pay the funeral expenses of a 7-year-old Chester girl who was killed Sunday when a race boat in Thunder on the Narrows went off the course and struck a crowd of spectators.

Authorities say Julianne Addison Rosela, 7, died when she was hit by a 21-foot high-speed boat. Three other people were injured in the crash; authorities released their names Tuesday afternoon, as well as the boat’s driver.

Coast Guard officials say the racing boat This Is Heaven, driven by Philip Justus Mitchell, struck three spectator boats that were rafted together with a larger group of 12 boats.

»»SEE ALSO: Police: 7-Year-Old Killed at Thunder on the Narrows

Thunder on the Narrows is a high-speed boat race, with boats reaching up to 150 mph, according to ABC2.

Rosela, 7, of Chester, died at Queen Anne’s Medical Center, according to a release Tuesday from the Coast Guard.

Those injured were:

• Robbie Root, 35, of Chester, who was flown by medical helicopter to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center
• Jennifer Browning, 34, of Stevensville, who was flown by medical helicopter to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center
• Michelle Thomas, 40, of Chester, taken by local EMS to Anne Arundel County Medical Center

The fatal crash is under investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland Natural Resources Police.

Fundraiser for Family

The Julianne Rosela’s Memorial Fund page on the GoFundMe site had raised just under $38,000 as of Tuesday afternoon. Organizers say the money will help the child’s mother pay funeral expenses.

The website says Julianne is survived by her mother, Carrie Rosela, and her sisters, Meghan and Allie.

“She was a beautiful girl who crackled with energy and warmth and love, whose loss is all the more painful for how strongly and loudly and enthusiasically she lived,” the fundraiser site says.

»Photo of Julianne Rosela from GoFundMe page