GoFundMe Started For Man Seriously Injured In Foxboro Crash

FOXBOROUGH, MA — The community has rallied around an elderly man seriously injured in a head-on collision with a van filled with two people police said carried shoplifters trying to evade Foxborough officers.

Friends and family of Edward Fitzpatrick, 74, of Walpole, set up a GoFundMe page, and as of Thursday afternoon, have raised more than $15,600 to pay for his medical bills. The fundraising effort was also supposed to also go towards Fitzpatrick's dog Cate, who was seriously injured in the crash, but Cate has since died.

Fitzpatrick, a self-employed plumber and U.S. Navy veteran, suffered leg bone fractures and a ruptured aorta in the crash Sunday, his lawyer Mike Santo told the Sun Chronicle. He remains at Tufts Medical Center in Boston recovering from his injuries.

"He is one of the funniest people I know, and has been there for me through our many years of friendship," Fitzpatrick's friend Melissa Salzberg wrote on the GoFundMe page. "He is a gifted baker, and often delivers fresh baked-goods to me and my staff at The Village Groomer. If he loves you, he will do absolutely anything for you. His loyalty to his friends is unwavering."

Santo said the crash also left Fitzpatrick's dog paralyzed. Cate, the 7-year-old Australian shepherd, has since been euthanized.

To donate to Fitzpatrick's GoFundMe. Check out the page here.