Fundraiser will support veterinary students in memory of K-State student hit by truck
A fundraiser has been started for the family of a 21-year-old Kansas State University student who was killed by a truck Sunday as she attempted to help strangers on the highway, according to a GoFundMe page that has been set up.
Autumn Johnson, who was pursuing a graduate degree in veterinary medicine at K-State, was struck on Interstate 70 in Shawnee County, Kansas.
A truck traveling on West Union Road was unable to move into the right lane, due to traffic, as Johnson ran toward the median, the Kansas Highway Patrol said in a crash report. She was rushed to Stormont Vail Health hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
John Moulden, 37, of Knoxville, Tennessee was identified as the driver of the truck.
A GoFundMe page said Johnson was helping occupants of a different crash when she was hit.
“That is who she was and what her passion encompassed; helping those who needed assistance,” the page said.
Originally from Wasilla, Alaska, Johnson was attending K-State to pursue a career as a veterinary surgeon.
Her father wrote in a letter posted to the GoFundMe page that while he was worried about his daughter being so far away, he knew she belonged at K-State.
Johnson’s fiance said they had been together for four-and-a-half years, after he asked for her phone number in the parking lot of a grocery store. He proposed in June and they planned to marry after she graduated.
Donations will help pay for Johnson’s funeral and start a fund that will support veterinary medicine students.
The page has raised $12,525 as of Friday morning.
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 8:42 AM.
