LOUISVILLE, Ky. — DelQuan Wiley held his mother's funeral plans. Inside, photos of a young and old Yashica Wiley, an order of the service, and scripture special to her.
Those plans may never come true. DelQuan and Yashica made them together because she suffered several illnesses, such as lupus and diabetes.
"She was supposed to die from sickness, not being hit by a car," DelQuan said. "This was never supposed to happen."
When she died over a week ago, they shared a studio apartment in Newburg -- and they also shared a nickname.
"Wile E. Coyote," DelQuan explained. "That was actually, her teachers gave her that name. Which is crazy because my teachers gave me that name."
DelQuan had his own name for her — warrior queen mother. He recalled one time where he was working late at a convenience store, and a customer threatened him.
"I had to like literally hop over the counter and grab my mom so she didn't start fighting while I'm on the clock still," he said, laughing at the memory.
Even while sick, Yashica spent her days attending school for her GED. Together, they enjoyed watching wrestling and going to the movies.
According to LMPD, a driver hit Yashica near a Dixie Highway bus stop where it intersects Fury Way on Jan 12 at 6 p.m. The driver stayed after the crash. LMPD is investigating what happened.
Left with the difficult decision of how to handle his mother's remains, DelQuan is trying to raise money for a small funeral. He's turned to GoFundMe for help, but it hasn't gained traction.
Whether it will help him move on, that's still uncertain.
"Maybe, just maybe it'll help me. I don't know," he said, but he wants to have the funeral anyways for the people his mother loved.
If you want to help, you can click this link for his GoFundMe. You could also give directly to the funeral home, GC Williams.
In 2023, WHAS11 counted five deaths and six injuries for other people walking on foot along Dixie Highway. Vision Zero Louisville tracks the city's data with this dashboard.
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