Livonia family opens GoFundMe for driver hit by speeding vehicle

Livonia driver hit by speeding vehicle left in critical condition

Kline says her friend had just picked up her daughter?s car from the repair shop. That?s when Livonia police say Dawone Cook Junior, who was fleeing from cops at speeds near a hundred miles an hour, ran a red light and crashed into Hancock.

LIVONIA, Mich. (FOX 2) - Flames erupted at a Shell gas station where the back half of a car was on fire, while the front half of a Lincoln MKZ was at the intersection of 5 Mile and Merriman on Friday. 

Timeline:

First responders were trying to free the driver, Kimberly Hancock, a wife, mother of four, and healthcare worker from Redford.

"She was going to pick up her daughter, so she was just an innocent bystander here," said friend Laura Kline. "She was legally going through a green light, and out of nowhere, because that car was going so fast, it just came out of nowhere and hit her, splitting the car in half."

Kline says her friend had just picked up her daughter’s car from the repair shop. That’s when Livonia police say Dawone Cook Junior, who was fleeing from cops at speeds near a hundred miles an hour, ran a red light and crashed into Hancock.

"It was touch and go in the beginning—we didn’t even know if she would survive," Kline said. "She had a broken sternum, she broke her ribs and damage to her intestine, which had to be removed. Then she was on a ventilator—she’s off the ventilator, thank God, but she’s still in the ICU."

What's next:

Cook is being held on a $750,000 bond. Police say he was on federal probation for weapons charges when they pulled him over at Seven Mile and Middlebelt. That’s when he jumped back into his car and fled, hit Hancock, then tried to run away but was arrested.

It’s really incredible this wasn’t worse because the back half of the car came flying into the Shell gas station parking lot. You can see it was on fire, leaking gas as it slid over to the side of the building, and it’s still charred.

What you can do:

Kline has now set up a GoFundMe for Hancock’s family, hoping to help with their unexpected medical bills.

"We are so grateful to everyone who has contributed—money, prayers, even just sharing the GoFundMe."

As for Cook, he’s facing nine counts ranging from weapons charges to assaulting an officer, fleeing police, and trying to leave the scene of this devastating accident.

"It’s terrible that an innocent person had to suffer like this, and it could have been more people."