Iryna Shevchuk

Iryna Shevchuk

Donations are being collected to help the family of a young woman from Ukraine who was killed in a car versus bicycle crash last week in northwest Iowa. The Go Fund Me Page for 20-year-old Iryna Shevchuk will help her family get her back home as well as to pay off debts they incurred to get her to the U.S.

The fundraising effort is more than halfway toward a $5,000 goal. Shevchuk was in Iowa as part of the Summer Work and Travel program and was studying Agricultural Technology in forestry and horticultural.

According to the Iowa State Patrol, on the night of June 23, Shevchuk and another person were riding bicycles on Highway 71 in Spirit Lake when Shevchuk was hit from behind by a car. It happened just before midnight and the motorist, 23-year-old Dustin Abbas of Milford, reported he did not see either of the cyclists who were wearing dark clothing and did not have lights or reflectors on their bikes.

No charges have been filed in the crash. Shevchuk was working two full time jobs at the Spirit Lake Dairy Queen and the Inn of Okoboji. Arnolds Park Amusement Park is donating $1 of all Park Day Passes purchased through July 3 to the fundraising effort.

(Reporting by Ryan Long, KICD, Spencer)