Over $19K Raised For Family Of College Student Killed In Crash

SAYVILLE, NY — The community can together to raise nearly $20,000 for the family of a Sayville resident who died in a tragic car crash in North Carolina recently. Last week, seven University of Mount Olive students, including six from the women's lacrosse team and a former baseball player, were involved in the fatal crash at the intersection of Highway 55 and Indian Springs Road.

The students were in a jeep that was struck by an oncoming transfer-trailer truck. Freshmen exercise science major Madison Mergl, of Sayville, and sophomore agribusiness major Ann Wray of Oakland, NJ, died as a result of the injuries they sustained in the crash on Friday. The other students were airlifted to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville.

Long Island resident Madison Mergl was one of the students and member of the University of Mount Olive women's lacrosse team involved in the crash. After the fatal crash, organizer Caitlin Gore started a fundraiser on GoFundMe to help raise money for Mergl's family.

"[Madison] always happy and had the most genuine, sweetest soul. Her laugh was contagious and always brought light to any situation," Mergl wrote on the page. "You could count on her to always have a great time."

The fundraiser was put together by the Trojan lacrosse team, to help the Mergl family with unexpected costs.

"The money will go directly to her family in helping bring her home to them in Long Island, New York, as well as pay for unexpected funeral costs," Mergl wrote.

The goal of the page was to raise a total of $15,000. As of Wednesday, the page well exceeded the goal, raising a total of $19,579.

To read more or to donate, visit the GoFundMe page here.

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