A relative of Salicia Yost has begun an online fundraising campaign to supplement costs to be incurred by the shooting victim's parents who are staying bedside at the hospital.
Angie Melius, 38, created an online campaign Tuesday at the GoFundMe website. The goal is to raise $5,000 to pay for hotel, food and travel expenses for Yost's mother and father, Melius writes in the campaign description.
Yost, 20, is hospitalized in critical condition at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville. She remains in a medically induced coma, Melius said.
"Her mother has been living at that waiting room," Melius said Tuesday by telephone
Relatives have already gathered enough money to pay for one week's worth of lodging, Melius said, but should Yost "pull through" it could be months before she's released.
Yost was found early Saturday morning behind the wheel of a vehicle along Irish Valley Road, three miles north of Shamokin. Hospital personnel subsequently discovered she had been shot in the head. State police are investigating, and Melius said the victim's family has been in contact with investigators.
Melius described Yost as a family girl who is a "social butterfly." They're cousins, but their family dynamic is one where Yost calls Melius her aunt, and Melius calls Yost her niece.
"That's my baby," Melius said. "For somebody to do this to her, it's not right; it's wrong."
For information on the fundraising campaign or to donate, visit www.gofundme.com/6t4g84