Taylor Swift is once again proving why she’s one of the most philanthropic women in entertainment.
The singer spent a whopping $50,000 to help a Good Samaritan who suffered life-threatening injuries in Rhode Island last month when she stopped to help a group who had been in a car accident, the Daily Mail can confirm.
Ashley Taunton, 42, was driving on I-95 South when she saw the aftermath of an incident in which a teenage driver’s vehicle had floatplaned.
She told me People in an interview that the trio were “a bit confused” when she approached them from where she had left her own car, with her youngest daughter inside.
During her quest to get the kids out of the rainy weather safely, the mother of three ended up being hit by an oncoming car that also hydroplaned when she got out to lend a hand.
Taylor Swift donated $50,000 to help a Good Samaritan who suffered life-threatening injuries in Rhode Island last month when she stopped to help a group who had been in a car accident
Ashley Taunton, 42, was driving with her youngest daughter on I-95 South when she saw the aftermath of an incident in which a teenage driver’s vehicle ended up in a floatplane
Swift was moved to hear how the mother of three was ultimately injured when she pushed one of the teens out of the way as the second vehicle sped toward them.
She continued, “I thought, ‘That’s it.’ Then I sat in the ambulance just praying, I didn’t want to die.’
The country and Swift were moved to hear how Taunton was only injured when she pushed one of the teenagers out of the way as the second vehicle sped towards them.
While the boy named Vinny was fine, the certified nursing assistant suffered internal bleeding.
“It just felt like a big explosion,” Taunton told People. ‘I remember lying on the ground and seeing my ankle just hanging there. I tried to get up, but I couldn’t breathe.’
Taunton’s daughter then rushed to hold her hand as they waited for medical help.
Her injuries included bilateral internal carotid artery dissection, lacerations to the liver and spleen, multiple rib fractures and a ruptured diaphragm.
It’s unclear how much time Taunton will have to spend in the hospital recovering from her injuries, but she expects her physical therapy could last up to a year.
With the goal of raising $110,000 by Friday evening GoFundMe set up in partnership with her husband Joe, had raised more than $64,000.
Her injuries included bilateral internal carotid artery dissection, lacerations to the liver and spleen, multiple rib fractures and a ruptured diaphragm.
The GoFundMe was set up in collaboration with her husband Joe. The Meal Train donation also raised more than $16,000 of a $20,000 goal
Taunton doesn’t know how long it will take to make a full recovery, but physical therapy could take up to a year
The largest donation was $50,000 from a donor named “Taylor Swift.”
The Meal Train donation has raised more than $16,000 of a $20,000 goal.
It wasn’t until the hospital that Taunton realized her connection to Vinny, whose life she helped save.
When Taunton’s friend Jamie O’Rourke saw her husband Joe and their daughter in hospital and they explained what had happened, everything came together.
“Jamie just lost it and said, ‘Oh my god, that was Ashley?’ She saved my son’s life,” Taunton recalled in the interview with People.
O’Rourke told WPRI of Taunton: “She was so brave to put herself in danger.”
Swift’s big donation comes after it was revealed that she and Travis Kelce donated $26 million to at least 20 charities ahead of their wedding in July.
Charities benefiting include nine food banks – including one in Swift’s hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania – three children’s hospitals and seven education programs.
The Daily Mail has contacted Swift’s representatives for comment.
