DaRon Craig Obituary, Death; – The family of DaRon Craig is enduring a series of tragedies, following the death of DaRon, who was struck by a vehicle while walking on a sidewalk in Portland, Oregon, last week. Just hours after a vigil held in his honor on Friday, their home suffered damage due to a fire.
Officials from Portland Fire and Rescue indicated that the fire may have originated from embers of a barbecue that were resting over bark chips in the front yard. Angeline McKinney-Craig, DaRon’s ex-wife and lifelong friend, mentioned that the family had hosted a barbecue prior to the vigil.
In an interview with Nexstar’s KOIN, she recounted smelling smoke around 8 a.m. on Saturday morning.
“I went out to the front door, opened it, and the moment I did, smoke completely filled the area,” Angeline stated. “I just collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed by the question: how much more can you lose? How much more can you endure?”
She managed to ensure the safety of the children. However, the front porch has sustained considerable damage, rendering the house uninhabitable due to smoke. Angeline and her children are currently residing in a hotel temporarily.
“All I could think about was that this was our only source of stability, and now it feels like everything is happening at once, which is just too overwhelming,” she expressed.
As they slowly rebuild, Angeline said the whole community has helped in any way they can in light of these tragedies. She said community members even donated nearly $26,000 to the GoFundMe she created for DaRon’s funeral expenses.
“That’s all I can do is just believe that, you know, the community has been great. And so I have to believe that no matter what, we’ll be okay in the end through all of this,” Angeline said.
A spokesperson with the Portland Police Bureau said they’re still investigating what caused the crash that killed DaRon.
