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Taylor Swift fans raise thousands for man who was killed on way home from concert

Home> Community

Published 09:39 26 Apr 2023 GMT+1

Taylor Swift fans raise thousands for man who was killed on way home from concert

Jacob Lewis was driving home with his sister when he was hit by a car

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

Taylor Swift fans have helped to raise thousands of dollars for a man who was killed while on his way home from seeing the singer in concert.

Jacob Charles Lewis, 20, was travelling home from Swift's concert in Houston, Texas in the early hours of Saturday morning (22 April) when the car he was in started having issues.

With his sister, April Bancroft, in the vehicle, Lewis got out to push the car along the shoulder of the Southwest Freeway towards an exit.

Lewis and Bancroft went to the concert together in Houston.
Twitter/@apriltheswiftie

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As he was outside, a black Volkswagen Beetle struck Lewis and his car, causing the 20-year-old to die at the scene.

Bancroft, who suffered minor bruises and scrapes, later said: “It was the night I had been looking forward to for a very long time and turned for the absolute worst. What I hope will be the worst thing I have to live through.”

In the wake of Lewis' death, a GoFundMe page was set up to help support his family with the funeral costs.

"Jacob Lewis and his sister were returning from Taylor Swift’s Era Tour concert in Houston," the page reads. "On the way home, their car had stalled. Jacob at once started to push the car when he was tragically hit and killed by a drunk driver."

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Taylor Swift fans have shared the GoFundMe.
Twitter/@TheSwiftSociety

The page was actually set up by a member of the 'Pokémon Community of Houston', of which Lewis' father, Steve, is a 'prominent leader'.

However, many Swift fans quickly flooded the page with their support, with dozens of donations coming in at Swift's lucky number - $13.

A number of comments also reference Swift's music, with one reading: "Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you… Long live, Jacob."

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The fundraiser quickly blew past its $75,000 goal, and at the time of writing (26 April) sits at more than $123,400.

Lewis' sister called for support for her brother.
Twitter/@apriltheswiftie

Bancroft has thanked all of the fans showing their love in the wake of her loss and took to Twitter to share her appreciation, writing: "I cannot express the overwhelming happiness and gratitude from every #Swiftie out there. Thank you thank you thank you. I will get to your messages eventually if I haven’t already, your words have inspired me through my day so much."

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Bancroft described Lewis as 'the best brother that you could ever have'.

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"He was so sweet from the day he was born and he was the best way to be upgraded to a big sister when I was younger," she said.

Bancroft had got herself and Lewis tickets to see Swift as a Christmas present.

The man who struck Lewis was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, and failure to stop and render aid.

If you want to donate to the GoFundMe, you can do so here.

Featured Image Credit: Facebook / ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy

Topics: Taylor Swift, Music, Celebrity, Money

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

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