Phoenix 24
A celebrity contribution has brought wider attention to an act of courage on a rain-soaked highway.
PROVIDENCE, UNITED STATES
Taylor Swift has donated $50,000 to a fundraising campaign supporting Ashley Taunton, a Connecticut mother of three who suffered life-threatening injuries while helping teenagers after a road accident. The contribution, confirmed by People, became the campaign’s largest individual donation. Swift also sent wishes for Taunton’s recovery and expressed support for her family.
Taunton, 42, was travelling with her youngest daughter on Interstate 95 in Rhode Island when she encountered a vehicle that had hydroplaned during heavy rain. A former certified nursing assistant, she stopped approximately 30 yards from the crash and instructed her daughter to remain inside their car while calling Taunton’s husband.
While Taunton assisted three teenagers, another vehicle lost control and moved toward the group. She pushed 19-year-old Vinny O’Rourke out of its path before being struck herself. Taunton sustained internal bleeding, multiple fractures and organ injuries that required several operations and an extended hospital stay.
The connection between rescuer and teenager emerged only later. Vinny was the son of Jamie O’Rourke, one of Taunton’s longtime friends. Their families discovered the link at the hospital when O’Rourke encountered Taunton’s husband and daughter and learned where the collision had occurred.
A family friend organised the fundraiser to help Taunton, her husband and their children during a recovery that could last many months. The money is intended for household expenses, food, transportation connected with medical appointments and healthcare costs not covered by insurance. A separate community meal campaign has also generated financial assistance.
Swift’s donation substantially increased the resources available to the family, but the central action preceded the celebrity attention. Taunton stopped because strangers appeared to be in danger and accepted a risk she could not fully calculate. The public response now converts that private decision into practical support for the person who absorbed its consequences.
Detrás de cada dato, la intención. / Behind every data point, the intention.