A fundraiser started for the family of an Okotoks man who recently suffered severe injuries in a collision has been cancelled.

On the morning of Feb. 1, 44-year-old Rob Sholter was involved in a serious collision and had to be airlifted to hospital in life-threatening condition.

The Sholters' friend neighbour and friend Stephanie Kelly started a GoFundMe page for the family later that day, knowing they'd be in a tough spot following Rob's injuries.

It quickly raised a few thousand dollars, but over the next few days, Kelly says the family started receiving threats and accusations that the fundraiser was disingenuous.

"Some people reached out and felt the money was being pulled in because of a cash grab. They felt like the family was gaining off of his tragic accident. They felt it was better to close the GoFundMe so there wasn't any more drama, so to say, coming their way."

"The really frustrating thing is I don't think people understand how serious his injuries are. He's still intubated, he just finished his third surgery... He could have died. So, what's really frustrating is he's the main breadwinner and they've basically been forced to cut one of the courses of income that could have really helped them through this," she says.

Another source of frustration for Kelly is that she started the fundraiser of her own volition. 

The page raised $6,550 before it was disabled.

Kelly is still passing on donations and can be contacted at stephanie.m.kelly@outlook.com or (403) 797-9000.

People looking to donate can also contact Cheryl Sholter at csholter@gmail.com.

Related Stories