People chip in thousands of dollars for La Michoacana Purépecha owners’ son’s medical bills

(ABC 6 News) – Over $6,000 has been raised to assist the family owners of the Rochester ice cream shop La Michoacana Purépecha after he was critically injured in a car crash last week.

Seventeen-year-old Francisco Lopez was flown to St. Mary’s Hospital after he and his younger brother faced a head-on collision west of Hayward. After hearing the news, family friend Kat Rollie started a GoFundMe page hoping the community would come together to help cover Francisco’s medical costs.

“My stepson Corbin goes to school with Francisco,” Rollie said. “He was just horrified by the news. He read an article and that’s how he found out. All we could do was figure out how can we help.”

The community did come through for the Lopez family raising around $6,500 as of Tuesday.

After 14 hours of surgery and just over a week in the hospital, Francisco returned home.

“I can hug him,” said Francisco’s mother Maria Lopez. “I can tell him that he’s going to be better soon. It’s just great to have him back home.”

According to Rollie, Francisco’s GoFundMe page will remain open for another week.

Meanwhile, La Michoacana Purépecha remains open while Francisco continues recovering.

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