Following the bus accident that killed a 11-year-old bicyclist Monday afternoon, local restaurants in Hollister—a “big, small town”—are hosting fundraisers to help the youth’s family with unexpected costs.
The Domino’s Pizza located at 601 McCray St. in Hollister will be hosting an event from 10:30 a.m. to midnight Aug. 4 from which all profits for the day will go directly to the family. The neighboring restaurant, Our Mexican Food, will sell enchilada plates to benefit the family Aug. 7.
The owners of both restaurants did not know the victim. Joshua Rodriguez, an 11-year-old boy, was killed Monday when a county transit bus struck his bicycle at Memorial Drive and Verdun Avenue.
“Actually, I don’t know him at all,” said Scott Flaherty, the owner of the Domino’s Pizza in Hollister. “One of his neighbors came by and she’s trying to get the community involved.”
A self-proclaimed “local guy,” Flaherty is a Hollister resident with two children still attending San Benito High School, he said.
“Community is supposed to come together when things like this happen and you help if you can,” Flaherty said. “All the profits from Tuesday are going to go directly to the family. Period.”
Juan Ramirez, the owner of Our Mexican Food, also wanted to help the Rodriguez family after he learned a kid had passed away.
Ramirez was still not sure of the times for the benefit sale when he spoke with the Free Lance on Tuesday morning. He expects about 80 percent of the sales from the day will go to benefit the family and the remaining 20 percent will help cover costs, he said in Spanish.
For Flaherty, the way that Hollister—which he calls a “big, small town— responded to the tragedy by rallying together reminded him of the time different communities stepped up to help him.
“Years ago, my wife passed away and the community stepped in and helped me as well,” Flaherty said. “Our church and friends and everybody rallied and it was amazing.”
To learn more about how to help the family, visit the GoFundMe.com account that is fundraising money to cover the costs of the funeral:http://www.gofundme.com/h96pgyp83k.
