A fundraiser is being held to benefit the family of a Fulton man who died after a co-worker allegedly hit him with a truck in Pennsylvania.
Shane Stewart, 25, Fulton, died of injuries Monday after he was hit by a vehicle driven by Patrick R. Ramirez, 25, Blue Springs.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa., police arrested Ramirez after witnesses said they observed him driving a truck Monday night that hit Stewart, who was standing in a parking lot.
Police reported a Host Inn security guard told them he observed Stewart, Ramirez and one other man identified as Stuart Thompson. The guard told police he thought they were too intoxicated to drive, and he tried to stop them but the group drove away in a truck.
He said Stewart was driving the truck when it left the hotel. Thompson told police he was in the back seat and Ramirez and Stewart were arguing about who should be driving. The group later stopped at a McDonald's restaurant. At one point, Stewart got out of the vehicle and Ramirez got behind the wheel.
Witnesses told police Stewart asked Ramirez if he was going to run over him. At that point, Ramirez then drove the vehicle into Stewart, knocking him to the ground. A witness said Ramirez drove a few feet away, then stopped, got out of the vehicle to check on Stewart. When he saw Stewart was injured severely, Ramirez then left the scene of the accident, witnesses told police.
The Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice newspaper reported police later arrested Ramirez in his hotel room. Ramirez faces a series of felony charges, including aggravated assault by a vehicle while driving while intoxicated.
Police reported Stewart's brother, Derek Marsh, told them that he, his brother Shane, Ramirez and Thompson had been staying at the Host Inn while they were in Wilkes-Barre working on a construction job.
Stewart attended South Callaway High School at Mokane.
To raise money for the Shane Stewart Memorial Service, a spaghetti dinner and bake sale will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Heartland Church gymnasium, 1410 Mokane Road in Fulton. More information on the fundraiser is available by calling Fawn Vandeloecht, a cousin of Stewart, at 573-220-0907.
A Shane Stewart Memorial Fund with a goal of raising $10,000 by Sept. 30 has been established on a fundraising website. It can be accessed at www.everribbon.com/shanestewartmemorialfund. The fund was created by Kerry Hart.