Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A GoFundMe account has been set up to assist with funeral expenses for a man killed in a tragic crash on US-23 in Green Oak Township on Monday.

33-year-old Richard Kraft of Alpena died after a semi-truck crossed the median and hit his truck head-on. He died on impact, along with the other driver. Kraft leaves behind his wife, Samantha. The couple just got married this past June, after being together for seven years.

Chelsea Kania, a family friend, has started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help with funeral expenses after the tragic loss. Kania told WHMI she’s close with Sam but her partner Josh was really good friends with Rich - who was a truck driver and on the road a lot. Kania said Rich was an incredible friend who loved to go camping and have family game nights. She says he loved his family and was always laughing and playing with his nieces, nephews, and friends’ kids – adding he could light up a room, every time and so many have been impacted by his loss.

Kania said Sam is not doing well and is having a very hard time but she’s surrounded by family and friends and when they were visiting her on Tuesday, there wasn’t an empty space on the floor to sit down. She said Sam and Rich were loved by so many and seeing her like this is just heartbreaking for everybody.

Kania says they would like to potentially increase the amount for the fundraiser to assist Sam but wanted to start with the cost of the funeral.

Kania said the funeral home has been great working with the family and they have around ten different prayer chains going but it’s been rough and his wife is worried about losing their home – adding she’s only 31 and they just got married in June after being together for seven years. She says they didn’t have kids but were very family oriented and have three dogs and two cats. Kania says they rent their home but Rich was the primary breadwinner and Sam only works part-time, adding they didn’t have much to begin with and supported each other a lot. With Sam on her own now, Kania says they want to do as much as they possibly can for her but the funeral is the biggest thing they wanted to make sure they got covered for her.

Green Oak Township Police said a preliminary investigation revealed a semi-truck traveling northbound on US-23 crossed over the median and struck another semi, head-on, that was traveling southbound. That caused subsequent crashes involving the original semi, a pickup truck that caught fire, and an SUV. Police said the driver of the pickup truck was ejected and succumbed to his injuries on-scene, as did the lone driver of the semi, Kraft, that was headed southbound.

A link to the GoFundMe account is provided.