GoFundMe started to help cover cost of Mussey Twp. crash victim's funeral

McKenna Golat, Port Huron Times Herald
·2 min read
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Dakota, Michael, and Scarlett Sirios and Tonya Koch pose for a family photo. Tonya passed away on July 27 following a car crash is Capac. A gofundme has been set up to help pay for funeral costs.
Dakota, Michael, and Scarlett Sirios and Tonya Koch pose for a family photo. Tonya passed away on July 27 following a car crash is Capac. A gofundme has been set up to help pay for funeral costs.

A GoFundMe page has been started to assist the family of a woman killed in a traffic crash this week in Mussey Township.

The fund was created by Tonya Koch’s friend, Amanda Lyttle, to help pay for Koch's funeral service. Koch’s parents are both retired and are unsure if they can cover the estimated cost of $10,000, Lyttle said.

“We’re trying to get this out to anywhere and everywhere so that we can help her family,” Lyttle said.

As of publication, the GoFundMe has raised more than $3,700.

Lyttle said Koch was the most caring and loving person she’s ever met. The two met around seven years ago at a kids pageant where their children were competing. Lyttle said Koch was like her sister.

“She’d light up every room she walked into,” she said. “She was truly an amazing, giving, and caring individual.”

In addition to the GoFundMe, a breakfast benefit has been scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon, July 31 at Miller’s Place in Capac. Admission to the benefit is $20 at the door. All proceeds will go towards Koch’s funeral.

Koch, 32, died on Jul 27 following a car crash at Donald and Capac Roads. Her fiancé, Michael Sirios, 29, was a passenger in the vehicle and was sent to the hospital with non-life threating injuries. Their daughters, Dakota, 7, and Scarlett, 3, have been staying with their grandparents. Lyttle said they have been struggling.

“Scarlett, at three, doesn’t fully understand what’s going on and bedtime has been rough,” she said. “Dakota being older, she has times where she just breaks down and it breaks our hearts when she looks at us.”

Lyttle said she hopes enough money will be raised before the funeral takes place. She said Koch did not want to be cremated, so the family wants to make sure she is laid to rest peacefully.

“We’re trying our best to raise money to ensure that what Tonya wanted for when her time came is honored,” Lyttle said.

The visitation service for Koch will be at 5 p.m., Aug. 3 at Kaatz Funeral Directors in Capac, with the funeral following at 1 p.m. on Aug. 4.

"Tonya attended Capac High School where she ran on the track team. She was the current manager of the newly open “New Dawgs in Town” restaurant in Capac," according to her obituary.

Contact McKenna Golat at mgolat@gannett.com or (810) 292-0122.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: GoFundMe started to help cover cost of Mussey Twp. crash victim's funeral