Wrong-Way Crash Near Las Vegas Kills Two Gwinnett Brothers

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — An online fundraiser memorializing two brothers killed in a car accident already has raised more than $10,000 toward a scholarship and a donation to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.

Javarius Barfield, 19, and Chase Fernandez, 8, both of Lawrenceville, died on Aug. 2 in a wrong-way crash near Las Vegas, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal. A spokesman for the Nevada Highway Patrol said impairment was suspected as a factor.

According to a GoFundMe page set up by family friend Janet Williams, Barfield and Fernandez were brothers, both in Nevada on a family vacation to see the Grand Canyon.

Williams wrote that Barfield was a rising sophomore at Clark Atlanta University, where was studying computer science and business. Fernandez was a rising third grader.

“The family accepts your heartfelt condolences and appreciates your prayers and gifts of kindness,” Williams wrote on behalf of Tamecha Buck and the Barfield and Fernandez families. “Donations are being accepted to assist with the establishment of a memorial foundation and scholarship in the name of the boys and to support Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD).”

The Gwinnett Daily Post reported that the GoFundMe page raised its initial goal of $10,000 in one day. It’s now aiming for $15,000. As of Monday, the fundraiser had reached nearly $11,000.

Read the story in The Las Vegas Review-Journal.