Widower Of Blind Woman Killed By Train Gets GoFundMe Help

MIDLOTHIAN, IL — A friend of the blind man whose wife, also legally blind, was fatally hit by a Metra train Monday in Midlothian has started a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for the widower's bills. Kelly R. Harris, 54, was killed after a Chicago-bound Rock Island District train struck her and her black Labrador guide dog, Billy, at around 6 p.m Monday at the 147th Street crossing. She had been walking to a CVS pharmacy near where she lived with her husband, Bobby. The couple had been married for 25 years.

"I have known Bobby & Kelly for 16 years," the friend wrote on the GoFundMe page, which was created Wednesday. "They are wonderful people and their disability never defined them. I'm setting up this fundraiser to help offset bills that will be coming in. … Please keep Bobby and his family in your prayers."

As of Thursday afternoon, the campaign had received three donations and raised $100. The goal is set at $2,500.

"Back in the day when I first started commuting I would walk home with Bobby — his parents lived a few blocks away from mine — so we'd talk until I got to our house and then he went on," Holly Bachara, one of the people who donated, wrote on the page. "I met [Kelly] when they took the train from Midlothian to Tinley probably to see his parents. Bobby I am so very sorry for your loss my thoughts and prayers are with you and your loved ones."

RELATED: Blind Woman Killed By Midlothian Metra Train; Guide Dog Loses Leg

Midlothian police and Metra are reviewing train video and interviewing witnesses as part of the accident investigation. Although the walk was routine for Kelly Harris, Bobby Harris has said that his wife had only had her guide dog for five months, and the two were still adjusting to one another. Billy lost a leg in the accident.

Visitation for Kelly Harris will be from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10, at Faith Baptist Church, 14841 S. Kedzie Ave., Posen. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at the church.

Go to the GoFundMe page for Bobby Harris to donate to the campaign. For more details about funeral services for Kelly Harris, go to the webiste for Hickey Memorial Chapels.

The GoFundMe page for the campaign to raise money for Bobby Harris, whose wife, Kelly, was killed when she and her guide dog were hit by a Metra train in Midlothian. (Image via GoFundMe)