‘He was a fun loving boy,’ aunt says of passenger in deadly I-5 crash in Bellingham
An online fundraising campaign has been set up to help the parents of the teenage passenger who died in Friday night’s fiery two-car crash along northbound Interstate 5 near the Sunset Drive exit.
Parm Bahia is the fundraiser for a GoFundMe.com account that was set up Tuesday, Dec. 17, in memory of her nephew, 18-year-old Manbir Singh. In the campaign’s first 15 hours, 78 donors raised more than half the $12,000 goal.
Singh was a passenger in a black 2015 Audi S4 driven by 19-year-old Karnveer S. Hundal at approximately 10 p.m. Dec. 13. Singh and Hundal both died when the Audi rear-ended a gray 2009 BMW X6 near milepost 254, according to the Washington State Patrol release on the incident.
Three Vancouver, B.C., residents were in the BMW, including a 7-year-old old girl who was injured, according to the report, though Trooper Heather Axtman later told The Bellingham Herald the injury appeared to be relatively minor.
The State Patrol continues to investigate the deadly crash, Axtman said, adding “We have no idea what was going on in the vehicle at the time.”
Singh was a senior at Squalicum High School, according to the GoFundMe post, and he enjoyed working out, playing video games and basketball.
“He was a fun-loving boy who loved with all his heart,” Bahia wrote in the post. “His presence would light up any room he walked into, and his smile made even the grumpiest person happy. Manbir was a person who was loyal, kind, and above all, an honest friend.”
Singh’s parents immigrated to the U.S. from India approximately five years ago in an effort to get a better education for their son, the post said.
Bahia wrote that money raised would go to help with Singh’s funeral costs and the family’s other needs.
GoFundMe regional spokesperson Angelique McNaughton told The Herald she had not seen a campaign for Hundal.
