DUETTE, Fla. — Friends and strangers are donating money to help the family who lost two children in a car crash in Manatee County over the weekend.
Kyle Wilder was driving with his family on SR 62 near County Road 39 in the Duette area of Manatee County. His family's SUV hydroplaned and collided with a concrete power pole.
The crash happened around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
His wife, Krista, was injured and taken to the hospital. Kyle was transported to the hospital but has since been released. Krista's two boys, Cameron and Cole, died at the scene. They were 11 and 15
Kris Dehnert is one of Kyle's lifelong friends. He heard the news from some friends.
"When I first hear about it, I'm a dad. I'm a dad of two kids. The first thing they started off saying was, they said Kyle and his wife were in a wreck, and the boys didn't make it; that hit me really hard," said Dehnert.
Dehnert started a GoFundMe page to help the family. The page has raised more than $70,000.
"The one thing they don't have to worry about is a financial burden. Like road of wrapping your head around losing your children is unbelievable. I don't think you come back from that," said Dehnert.
Dehnert stresses that it's not just Kyle and Krista suffering; it's also the families of Krista's two children.
"When I talked to Kyle today, the one thing he wanted to make sure is that if I talked to anyone about anything, to make sure to acknowledge that the other parts of the family have had a significant loss and it wasn't just him."
"The grandparents, the parents, the aunts and uncles. It's a real somber vibe across the board."
