KANNAPOLIS — Friends of a Kannapolis teen critically injured in a June 15 car crash at Myrtle Beach are planning a fundraiser Saturday.
Demarreis Shepherd, who graduated this year from A.L. Brown High School, was on a beach trip with friends when the wreck happened. Fellow graduate Braydon Harding died in the collision.
Police said driver Taifa Metho Kituku ran a red light and the Nissan Sentra they were in was struck by a Ford Excursion SUV. Kituku was charged with driving under the influence with death results and two counts of driving under the influence with great bodily injury. The charges are felonies.
After several weeks in ICU in a Myrtle Beach hospital, Shepherd was transported to a rehabilitation hospital in Charlotte, where he is still on a ventilator and costs are mounting, a family friend said.
His single mother, Brenda Shepherd, and his younger brother have been by his side constantly, and neighbors in the community where they live planned the fundraiser. It begins at 11 a.m. at 2129 Clear Brook Drive
There will be a hotdog sale with the trimmings and donations will be accepted.
The N.C. State Employees Credit Union has set up a special account for anyone who wants to donate. (Brenda Shepherd, special account, 2134).