Wausau Pilot & Review
The brother of a woman who died in an Easter weekend crash on Hwy. 29 west of Wausau is raising funds to pay funeral expenses for two of the three victims, who were best friends.
The crash, at about 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, claimed the life of 21-year-old Sophie Sullivan, of Appleton, and 20-year-old Audrie R. Stephens, also of Appleton. A 38-year-old Medford-area woman, Jennifer A. Krug, also died in the crash.
According to a report from the Marathon County Sheriff’s Department, Krug was driving the wrong way on Hwy. 29 when she struck Sullivan’s Honda Civic head on. Stephens was a passenger in Sullivan’s vehicle. All three women died.
Police say Krug’s headlamps did not appear to be illuminated at the time of the crash.
A man who stopped to render aid to the victims was struck by a third vehicle and was hospitalized, police said. That man’s name has not been released.
In a GoFundMe campaign, Sullivan’s brother Tristan said the two friends were headed home from the Twin Cities for Easter when they died.
“The two of them were inseparable, and a part of my life for as long as I can remember,” he wrote. “Anybody who knew Sophie knew she was a candle in the dark; she was the person people came to lean on. She had a smile for miles and so much energy. She was ferociously protective of her family and the people she cared about. And she cared about Audrie.”
The funding effort aims to raise $40,000. Donations neared $8,000 as of Tuesday.
“If we could pay for their outstanding obligations, funeral costs, and service expenses that would help a lot,” he wrote. “If we could raise enough where both families could maybe create some kind of memorial, marker, or symbol that they could remember the two girls by, that would be even better.”
The fundraiser can be accessed here.
