Thousands Raised For Navy Vet, Dad Of 4 Killed In Black Ice Crash

PARK RIDGE, IL - An effort to support the family of a Navy veteran and longtime union worker who was killed in a car crash while heading to western Illinois to watch his son play in a high school basketball tournament earlier this week has raised thousands of dollars in a short time. Tommy Gardiner of Park Ridge was described on a YouCaring fundraising page as a "proud Navy veteran" and the "sole provider for his wife and children."

Gardiner, 56, left behind his wife and four children, the youngest being in eighth grade, when he was the victim of a single-car accident on Interstate 88 Monday morning. He encountered black ice and his car slid from the westbound lanes to a ditch on the other side of the road. Gardiner was en route to Galesburg to watch his son and nephew compete for the Maine South High School basketball team in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Tournament.

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"Tommy's family meant the world to him," the fundraising page's description reads. "Any donation you can make to his family will be greatly appreciated."

Donations poured in immediately, and the total raised stood at nearly $38,000 as of Thursday night. The fundraising effort has a goal of $100,000.

Gardiner was a member of the Iron Workers Local #1 for 30 years.

Photo via YouCaring