GoFundMe Raises $10K For Family Of Woodbridge Woman Killed In Crash

WOODBRIDGE, VA — A 20-year-old woman from Woodbridge died in a car crash last week. The community has rallied to raise more than $10,000 to help her family and cover the cost of her funeral.

The woman, Jennifer Urias Tacuri, died at a hospital on Saturday after a car crash in Milton, Delaware. She was driving to the beach with her friends.

This week, Urias Tacuri's older brother Christian Urias started a GoFundMe to pay for her funeral. He set a goal of $10,000. On Friday morning, the day of Jennifer's funeral, the site had raised more than $10,390 from 97 donors.

"Jennifer was an amazing sister, daughter, cousin, friend, and coworker to many people around her," Christian Urias wrote in the GoFundMe. "She was bold, caring, independent, beautiful, generous in her own type of way, a jokester, and someone who was always there when you needed her to be."

Delaware State Police reported that Urias Tacuri was driving a 2014 Toyota Corolla in Milton before the crash. Around 7 a.m. on Saturday, she was driving on Milton Ellendale Highway when a Chevrolet Colorado started to turn left at an intersection, into the path of the Toyota. The two vehicles collided in the intersection.

Police said the crash caused both vehicles to spin before stopping. An ambulance took Urias Tacuri to the hospital when she was pronounced dead.

Sharon Calderon was one of Urias Tacuri's best friends. When she heard about the crash, Calderon was in disbelief.

"I was in shock when I received the news," Calderon told Patch. "I was like, 'This is a whole joke, this is a whole prank.'"

Calderon said she wants people to remember Urias Tacuri for the person she was, a lively and caring young woman.

"She was always bold, always caring for the people she loved," Calderon told Patch. "She was just an amazing person, she was always smiling so she can brighten up the room for people."

Urias Tacuri displayed a pair of quotes in her bedroom. Calderon said they exemplified who she was. One was from the Disney film Lilo & Stitch: "Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten."

The other quote was attributed to Marilyn Monroe. "I don't mind living in a man's world as long as I can be a woman in it."

Since her death, Urias Tacuri's friends and families have seen an outpouring of support. Urias Tacuri was a regular at car meets in Northern Virginia, and that community has thrown their support toward her family since her death.

"The smallest touch can make the biggest change," the DMV_Meetups Instagram page wrote on Thursday as they shared the fundraiser. "One thing about the car community is we always get together when needed and I wanted to put this out there as us coming together can provide help for this family."

The DMV_Meetups page organizes and shares information about car meets throughout the region. The account has more than 37,000 followers and shared the GoFundMe on Thursday at Calderon's request.

Urias Tacuri's funeral occurred Friday morning in Woodbridge. Calderon said she is still working to cope with the loss of her friend.

"I know that she was always going to be my best friend. She was going to be my maid of honor if I ever got married," Calderon said before the funeral on Friday.

Still, Calderon has been encouraged by the overwhelming response from the community. Urias Tacuri's friends and family have received support from dozens of people, including some who didn't know her that well.

"I've never seen so many people from the community get together like that and send this much love and support, and I'm just really happy about that," Calderon said. "And her family is really happy; she touched a lot of people."

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.