Batman, Captain America, Superwoman and other local heroes joined scores of Morgan Hill residents downtown Sunday night for a “yellow ribbon” vigil to raise awareness of traffic safety.
The event, organized by Morgan Hill resident Mark Preader of Heroes4Hope, was held as a show of support for two young victims of a July 4 traffic accident at Monterey Road and Fourth Street as fundraising pages recently set up for each of the children continue to gain donations and publicity.
Preader, dressed as Batman, addressed the assembled crowd as the July 17 vigil and march through downtown began at the corner adjacent to where the two pedestrians were struck by a white SUV on the Fourth of July. He urged the crowd to support the family of Michael, the 13-year-old who remains in the hospital due to extensive injuries he suffered in the July 4 collision.
“Michael is in our prayers,” Preader said while volunteers handed out candles to the crowd before marching through the downtown.
The younger child involved in the accident, identified on a gofundme.com page as Mateo, suffered numerous broken bones and other injuries in the July 4 accident.
Volunteers with Heroes4Hope, a nonprofit whose mission is to empower children and teach them that they can be a hero, were dressed in costumes including Batgirl and a Storm Trooper.
Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate joined the assembled residents as they proceeded together through the downtown, and expressed his thanks for helping the injured children’s family.
“I just wanted to thank them for showing the support for Michael,” Tate said. “It’s kind of a typical thing for the Morgan Hill community, when we have tragic problems the community comes out and supports, and tries to do everything they can to ease the problems.”
Two pages on gofundme.com have been set up to gather contributions for medical expenses for the family of Michael and Mateo, the 6-year-old who was injured in the same July 4 accident. Both children were rushed to the hospital after the collision, in which police say the children were crossing eastbound through the crosswalk at Fourth Street when a Jeep traveling north struck them both.
“Michael took the full hit straight on and ended up under the SUV,” reads a message on the gofundme page titled “Michael’s Recovery Fund.”
“Michael has suffered severe head trauma,” the page continues. “His parents, family and friends who were on that journey to watch fireworks that night all witnessed this tragic nightmare.”
Michael, whose last name is not listed on the gofundme page, has undergone two surgeries since the accident, including one that removed a section of his skull to relieve pressure from brain swelling. He has spent more than a week in the pediatric Intensive Care Unit of an area hospital, and he has a “long…but very hopeful road to recovery ahead of him,” the page states.
The page continues that Michael’s parents face “exorbitant financial hardships” that his treatment, recovery and ongoing medical attention will incur. As of July 18, the gofundme page has raised more than $21,000 in donations toward a goal of $250,000.
The page for Mateo, the 6-year-old who was struck in the July 4 accident, says the youth suffered numerous broken bones, road rash and cuts on his face in the collision. That page has raised about $2,500 toward a goal of $10,000.
Michael’s fundraising page says the family was on their way to the Community and Cultural Center to watch the holiday fireworks when the collision happened. They were traveling from Michael’s house, where the family had been celebrating the Fourth of July with a barbecue. The pages do not say how Mateo and Michael are related. The administrator for Michael’s page declined to comment further when contacted by the Times.
“No person, let alone such a young man, should ever endure the battles Michael is now and will continue to fight,” Michael’s gofundme page concludes.
The driver whose vehicle struck Michael and Mateo July 4 stayed at the scene and cooperated with authorities, and did not show any signs of impaired driving, police have said.
The fundraising page for Michael can be found at gofundme.com/miraclemichael, while Mateo’s site can be found at gofundme.com/2d22tu48.
