Community rallies after crash claims lives of Noblesville father, son

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CIN COM 0124 oberhart family
From left, Riley, Kathleen, Dan and Macy Oberhart. (Submitted photo)

By Sadie Hunter

A Jan. 14 police chase in Anderson, Ind., ended in a devastating loss for a Noblesville family.

Dan Oberhart, 53, and his son Riley, 24, a 2011 graduate of Noblesville High School, died from injuries sustained from a head-on collision with suspect Gary Agnew, 55, who was driving from Anderson police after he allegedly robbed a local Pizza Hut. Both Agnew and Dan were pronounced dead at the scene. Riley later died after being airlifted to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

Also in the vehicle were Dan’s wife Kathleen, 50, and daughter Macy, 15, who, as of press time, are recovering from the crash at an Indianapolis hospital.

Now, the community, consisting friends and strangers alike, has stepped up to show its sympathy and support for the Oberhart family, particularly their neighbors in the Mill Grove subdivision near Little Chicago Road and Ind. 38.

Neighbor Sarah Barr Simmons started an online fundraising campaign on GoFundMe (gofundme.com/kathleen-and-macy-oberhart). The page, created Jan. 16, surpassed its $20,000 goal in just one day. Fundraising goals have since been updated to $30,000 and then $40,000. As of press time, 547 donations had summed $35,741.

Another group of neighbors from Mill Grove started a black-and-gold-ribbon campaign, decorating the neighborhood with ribbon for when Kathleen and Macy arrived home from the hospital. Neighbor Lisa Duell, who doesn’t know the family personally, said the neighborhood wanted to do something as a silent statement of support.

Noblesville West Middle School, where Macy is an eighth-grade student, has also begun a campaign to support the family. Marnie Cooke, director of marketing and communications at Noblesville Schools, said both students and staff have been supporting Macy in a variety of ways, including decorating her locker, sending text messages, making hospital visits and sending flowers, donating funds to the GoFundMe campaign and to a field trip, donating meals, gift cards and gas money and more.

“Counselors have been on hand at her school to support students and staff,” Cooke told Current. “The Noblesville West leadership team and staff will continue to support her and watch out for her throughout the rest of the school year.”

An upcoming event at Marco’s Pizza, 111 S. Harbour Dr., Noblesville, will also benefit the family. The business is hosting a campaign, which began Jan. 23 and ends Thursday, Jan. 26, where all orders placed from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. with a mention of the Oberharts will result in a portion of the profits from the order being donated to the family. For orders made online by clicking on the Oberhart family tab, 25 percent of the cost of the order will be donated. All other orders will result in 20 percent of the cost of the order being donated.


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