Community Mourns Megan Frieseke's Loss, Here's How To Help

SHOREWOOD, WI -- Authorities said that 17-year-old Megan Frieseke died in a multi-vehicle crash near Cottage Grove. Shorewood School District officials said that Megan's sister Emily is at the UW-Madison Hospital under the care of physicians.

A fundraiser to help the family cover expenses has already raise more than $6,000 in its first few hours. The Go Fund Me Campaign, titled the Frieseke Family Support Fund, has garnered the support of more than 100 people. A statement from the family reads:

"No one deserves to end their journey at this age, in this way and Megan deserved it the least. She was going to live the most beautiful life. She will always be a part of our hearts and in our lives. Our family will never be the same without her. She bettered all of us and we hope her light will continue to guide us forward. Megan fought from the beginning until the very end and we know she is in a better place."

On Tuesday friends and family gathered at the St. Robert Parish in Shorewood to mourn her loss over the weekend.

"We're here to let [the Frieseke family] know we are holding hands with them," Rev. Ray Guthrie said in a JSOnline report this week. "We are crying with them. We are praying with them, as Jesus did for us and continues to do."

Later that day, luminaries bearing messages of love and compassion dotted the family's front lawn this week as hundreds came out to her home in an outpouring of support.

"We are deeply saddened by this loss to our school community and are making every effort to provide support to our students and families. Please join us in keeping the Frieseke family in your thoughts during this difficult time," Bryan Davis, Superintendent of the Shorewood School District, wrote in an April 1 letter to families.

The Wisconsin State Patrol said the crash happened just after 11 a.m. on I-94 near Cottage Grove. Investigators said the driver of a Honda Pilot was one of two vehicles that lost control on the interstate.

In addition to Megan, who died in the crash, authorities said that her sister Emily was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries where she remains in care of physicians. A 23-year-old Shorewood man and a 23-year-old Manitowoc woman were injured in the crash as well.