Students fundraise for teacher who crashed heading to fire
OXON HILL, Md. - A GoFundMe account has been started to help the father who wrecked his car while rushing home after his house caught fire with his children inside.
Carlos Pettigrew is a teacher at Oxon Hill High School, and two girls in his AP English class, Asia Harrison and Kayla Pasteur, set up the fundraising campaign.
"We would appreciate it if everyone can donate as much as they can because the Pettigrew family needs as much support as they can get," Harrison said in a text to FOX 5's Emily Miller.
After receiving a call from his daughter about the fire Wednesday morning, Pettigrew raced home, but he was driving so fast that he flipped his car upside down.
He managed to jump out of the car and ran a half-mile to reunite with his children who escaped safely.
"My kids were on my mind and making sure I got to them. I just pictured them in the house, you know, screaming for help and me not being able to be there," Pettigrew said Thursday on FOX 5 News Morning.
While FOX 5 was at the family's Largo home Thursday, an insurance adjuster was there to estimate how much the family can get for their lost possessions.
As of Thursday night, the GoFundMe page has raised more than $6,000.