An online fundraiser benefiting the eight-months pregnant wife of a Vandenberg Air Force Base airman, who was killed by a bus on Highway 1 near the base on Feb. 19, has exceeded expectations. The original goal was $5,000 but the donations easily surpassed that number within a few days, topping $16,000 as of Feb. 27.
California Highway Patrol (CHP) said Airman First Class Tyler M. Leidholdt, 24, was killed by a Santa Maria Transit bus at 5:30 a.m. the morning of Feb. 19.
The bus was traveling southbound in the right lane at 60 mph when it struck Leidholdt, who, for reasons that still aren’t clear, was directly in the vehicle’s path according to the CHP. Leidholt was pronounced dead at the scene.
The fundraiser is currently being conducted at gofundme.com/leidholdt-memorial-fund. The money will go toward Leidholdt’s funeral expenses.
Leidholdt had been in the Air Force for 1 1/2 years and had been assigned to Vandenberg since May 2017.
This article appears in Mar 1-8, 2018.