My name is Michael, and I’m creating this fundraiser for my mom, Kimberlee, after a terrifying carjacking and everything that has followed.

On Friday, August 28, at around 9:30 p.m., my mom was sitting in her parked car using her phone when she suddenly noticed a red dot on her chest. When she looked up, she was staring at a gun pointed directly at her face.

Three people threatened to shoot her if she didn’t get out of the car.

She did exactly what she needed to do to survive. She got out, and they took her phone so she couldn’t call for help before driving away in her car. She was left stranded on the side of the road with no phone and no transportation and eventually had to walk to a nearby gas station, where she was able to call the police and file a report.

Unfortunately, that was only the beginning.

Overnight, we learned that her stolen BMW had been connected to additional incidents and police pursuits. The following morning, a Pierce County Sheriff’s deputy spotted the vehicle speeding southbound on Pacific Avenue and a pursuit began. The car reached speeds of more than 100 mph, went into a ditch, lost two tires and was eventually abandoned. Three teenagers fled from the vehicle and were taken into custody. Two firearms were recovered from inside the car.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office later released body-camera footage from the pursuit, arrests, and recovery of firearms from inside my mom’s vehicle.

By the time my mom got her vehicle back, it had suffered extensive damage, including destroyed tires and damage to the wheels and axle.

We are incredibly grateful that my mom survived. A car can be replaced. She cannot.

But surviving something like this doesn’t mean everything simply goes back to normal the next morning.

The car was also filled with pieces of her everyday life and the supplies she relies on for work. Among the things taken or lost were credit and gift cards, cash, earbuds, chargers, personal belongings, and other items that will be costly to replace.

My mom works in real estate, and the vehicle also contained many of the tools she uses to do her job, including open house signs, “Just Sold” signs, business cards, lockboxes for homes, and other work supplies that now have to be replaced.

Some of what was taken from her can’t really be replaced at all, including sentimental belongings such as her rosary that held deep personal meaning for her.

She is now dealing with the emotional aftermath of having a gun pointed at her face while simultaneously trying to handle insurance, transportation, replacing her belongings and work supplies, missed time from work, and all of the unexpected expenses that come with suddenly losing the use of your vehicle.

And the timing could hardly have been worse.

Before this happened, my mom was already dealing with a serious health diagnosis that has required a significant amount of her time, energy, doctor visits, and money. She was already trying to manage those challenges when this was suddenly added on top of everything else.

I’m starting this GoFundMe because I want to take at least some of that weight off her shoulders.

Funds raised will help with:

My mom did everything right in an impossible situation. When someone pointed a gun at her and demanded her car, she gave it to them, and thankfully, she came home alive.

Now I want to help make sure the financial consequences of what was done to her don’t become another burden she has to carry by herself.

If you’re able to contribute, no matter the amount, our family would be incredibly grateful. If donating isn’t possible, simply sharing this fundraiser would mean just as much.

Thank you for taking the time to read her story and for helping my mom get some stability, peace of mind, and breathing room as she recovers.