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On Monday, March 13, Ukrainian refugee Yurii Vakhniak was killed in a car accident in Clayton, North Carolina. To help support the 40-year-old's family, his friend Alexander Katsman has started a GoFundMe page.
According to the New York Post, Yurii Vakhniak fled Ukraine at the outset of the war, after which he became an employee at a vehicle-shipping business in Clayton. On March 13, he was loading cars on interstate-70 when he was struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver, 26-year-old Seydina Ndiaye.
Officials reported that Seydina Ndiaye was driving on a revoked license at the time of the accident. Before the incident, he had three arrests for drunk driving, with one of the cases dating back to 2015.
The GoFundMe page noted that if the fundraising initiative is successful, they hope to transport Vakhniak's body back to Ukraine. The page read:
“Every penny which is raised by this fundraiser will go to pay for Yurri’s funeral arrangements and to help his family live without him. If possible, his family would like to transport his body back to Ukraine to be buried.”
Vakhniak left behind a wife, Ivanka, and two children, Anastasia and Vova. While his GoFundMe page had a $25,000 goal, as of March 20, it has raised over $29,550.
Family and friends condemn the death of Yurii Vakhniak
On the GoFundMe page, Alexander Katsman noted that Yurii Vakhniak was working in the transportation industry while trying to start his own business after coming to America.
The burgeoning venture, Anastasia Services Incorporated, was named after his daughter. As a result of these efforts, he could not save any money at the time of his death.
In an interview with WNCT-TV, his friend Alexander Bloom said:
“He was a good guy who gave everything he had to his friends and his family."
Bloom added that it was an especially tragic case, as Yurii Vakhniak died a senseless death after leaving the situation in Ukraine for his family's future. He said:
“These guys work day and night to provide for their family, grow a business and achieve the American dream. They didn’t come here to die. They came here to escape death.”
Bloom told reporters that considering Seydina Ndiaye's criminal history, he should never have been behind the wheel. He said:
“We were all kind of shocked that this person is still on the streets. We want to make sure that he doesn’t kill another one of our friends.”
In the wake of the incident, Seydina Ndiaye was booked into the Johnson County Sheriff's Office. He has been charged with felony death by vehicle.
