PLANT CITY, Fla. (WFLA) — Guillermo Gama is 23-year-old.
His family calls him, “Gordo.”
His aunt Jennifer Cantu tells 8 On Your Side he is still fighting for his life over two weeks after the SUV he was riding in was hit by a freight train.
“He has shown a little progress as far as moving his hands, and stuff like that but to wake up he has not,” Cantu explained.
That tragedy happened at this railroad crossing on Jim Lefler Circle.
The six other people riding in the car didn’t survive.
Sunday, the family held a fundraiser at Rancho Los Arados.
They showed off cars and trucks, whipped up some food, and sold raffle tickets.
They wanted to pay to rent the space, but the venue manager Lucy Saenz disagreed.
“I said, ‘absolutely not,'” she said. “If this is what we can do to contribute, do our part, donate the space and time, by all means, go for it.”
Saenz wasn’t the only one with a kind heart.
People from across the community pitched in.
“Such as ‘hey we’ll donate meat, 40lbs of burger meat,”‘ she explained. “And then other people that cook…said ‘Hey if you have the stuff ready, I’ll come and cook it for you.”
Other people donated the items and services being raffled off and even bounce houses to the cause.
It’s something that meant a lot to the Gama family.
“I just want to say thank you to everybody,” Gordo’s sister, Genesis Gama, said. “Right now, it’s kind of hard for us, but thank you to our amazing community for setting this up for my brother to have this amazing fundraiser for him.”
If you didn’t make it out today but still want to donate, you can do so here.