Fundraiser supports families of the injured

Act after act of local bands and musicians played to a packed house Saturday night at the Whistle Stop pub as part of a fundraiser for two Jasperites recovering from a car crash earlier this month.

Liza Jane McAughren, 18, and Mike Watkin, 25, were seriously injured at the beginning of June when they were thrown from the car after hitting a retaining wall on Marmot Basin Road.

McAughren is at the Royal Alexandra hospital in Edmonton in critical but stable condition in a coma. Watkin is at the University of Alberta hospital in serious but stable condition.

Amber Nelson, Watkin’s common law wife, said the CN worker moved to Jasper about six years ago from Edmonton. The couple has a an 11-month-old baby together.

“He’s a great guy,” Nelson said. “It’s been tough, but I’ve been dealing with it.’

Hannah Waxer, a second-year nursing student at the University of Prince Edward Island, knew McAughren from high school classes and was with her the night of the accident.

“It was the first time I’d seen her since I got back from school,” she said. “She’s the girl that always has a big smile on her face.”

McAughren is expected to be in hospital for a year, said Waxer, so some of the funds will go toward her medical expenses and so her mother can spend time in Edmonton.

“Everyone’s always asking about Liza,” Waxer said. “Everyone’s hoping for the best.”

Una Anderson, one of the evening’s organizers, said the event was a good way to support the families and have a good time.

“It was a really fun night,” Anderson said. “And I don’t think money should be a concern for anybody involved in something like this.”