NEPHI, Utah, July 17, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — When 11-year-old Grace Eyre suffered fatal injuries Friday during a parade, she had just jumped off the back of a pickup truck to distribute candy to spectators.
The Nephi girl lost her footing and fell under the flatbed trailer the truck was pulling. Spectators hurried to offer aid, but the crushing injuries would cost Grace her life.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up with the stated purpose of helping Grace’s family. The text reads:
Friends, Family, Community Members, and anyone able to help, Grace Eyre tragically passed away while handing out candy to spectators at her annual hometown parade. We cannot take away the heartache of Grace’s loss, but we can ease some of the financial burdens while Jon and Jessica adjust to a traumatic loss.
Please help the Eyre Family and #GiveforGrace.
As of late Monday morning, the Go Fund Me page had just hit its original goal of raising $12,500. In addition, a Wells Fargo account has been set up in the name of Grace Eyre.
When she jumped and fell, Grace had been participating in the Utah Stampede Rodeo Parade at 5:30 p.m. near 240 S. Main St. The pickup driver, unaware of what had happened, continued to drive at a slow rate of speed. The flatbed trailer carried a demolition derby vehicle.
“Officers and numerous citizens immediately came to the aid of the victim,” Police Chief Michael Morgan said in a news release. Grace was transported to the Central Valley Medical Center, where she succumbed to her injuries.
“Nephi City and Juab County offers the family and all those involved in this tragic accident our deepest sympathy and prayers,” Morgan’s statement said.
Grace was a happy and energetic girl, said Jason Dansie, bishop of her ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while speaking with reporters. Dansie and other volunteers collected money to help cover a memorial service while at another event held in connection with the rodeo. About $20,000 was raised there, Dansie said.
