The family of a teenager who saved a neighbor from a house fire two years ago is seeking help with funeral expenses after the teenager died in a car crash in Dallas on May 3.
Dawn Polk, the mother of Damian Richardson, said she is raising money online to help fund her son’s funeral, likely to be scheduled Friday in Waco. Friends, classmates and family members honored the 2019 Waco High School graduate with a public memorial service Saturday, but funeral arrangements remain pending, Polk said.
Richardson was 17 years old when he rushed into his neighbor’s burning home in East Waco in June 2018. Fire crews said Richardson pulled his then 69-year-old neighbor out, saving his life.
Polk said funeral arraignments were not finalized as of Monday afternoon, but she expected to have visitation Thursday at Peaceful Rest Funeral Home, 3302 E. Illinois Ave., in Dallas. Burial is expected to follow Friday.
She has established a GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/f/hm9qq-help-with-funeral-arrangements with a goal of raising $10,000 to help with funeral expenses.
Richardson moved to Dallas after graduating high school and died there in a traffic crash May 3. The driver of the vehicle Richardson was riding in, and another passenger in the vehicle, suffered minor injuries. The driver of another vehicle involved in the crash also suffered minor injuries. Police reported charges are under consideration against the driver of the car Richardson was in.
— WACOTRIB