SOUTH DEERFIELD — More than 140 donors have contributed so far to an online fundraiser for the family of Cole Baranoski, the teenager who was killed in a single-vehicle crash Friday morning.
As of Saturday afternoon, the GoFundMe page, which was organized Saturday by a South Deerfield resident, had raised more than $6,500 — surpassing the original $5,000 goal just three hours after the fundraiser was launched.
“We lost a brother, son, friend and bright star,” a description of the fundraiser reads. “May his bright smile and memory be a blessing.”
Money raised will assist the Baranoski family with expenses, according to the fundraising page, and additional funds will be donated in Cole’s name to youth baseball.
Cole Baranoski, 18, of South Deerfield, was a senior year at Frontier Regional School.
When contacted by the Greenfield Recorder, South Deerfield resident David Baranoski, Cole’s great-uncle, said, “I can only say he was a kind guy who just turned 18 a day ago,” noting he didn’t have much information about the accident. “Sadly, with youth comes the feeling of indestructibility. Only with age do we learn just how fragile we are.”
Police responded at around 5 a.m. on Friday to a report of a single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Mill Village Road and Lee Road, according to a statement from the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office. When police arrived, they found the driver had been ejected from the vehicle.
Cole Baranoski was transported to Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, where he was pronounced dead.
His two passengers, both of whom have been identified as former students of Frontier Regional School, were transported to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. One passenger has since been released, while the other remains at the hospital in stable condition, according to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
The crash remains under investigation by the Deerfield Police Department and the State Police detective unit attached to the Northwestern district attorney’s office, with the assistance of the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section.
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.