Darrell Preston | Source: Marc McDonald/GoFundMe
An online crowdfunding effort to support the victim of what police said appears to be a “racially motivated” beating has received an outsized number of contributions in the wake of the suspected white supremacist violence in Oregon.
Darrell Preston, a food cart owner who is Black, was working in Portland last month when he was “blindsided” in the attack that left him hospitalized with serious injuries to his face and head.
Now, a GoFundMe account in his name has collected more than eight times the amount that was being asked for.
Last weekend, more than two weeks after Preston was attacked, the Portland Police Department finally tracked down and arrested Daniel Thomas Warren, 40, and charged him with second-degree assault. But the case is still under investigation as officers work to determine whether hate crime charges are merited from the violence on June 15.
Preston was reportedly delivering food when the attack took place. His attorney “said he was beaten because of his race,” Fox 12 Oregon reported.
Video footage purportedly showing the attack was going viral on social media late last month. While it’s unclear if the violence in the video was committed by Warren against Preston, close-up still shots from the video showed a white man who resembled Warren’s mug shot, including a clean-shaven head.
Preston, described on the GoFundMe as “a local community business owner known for his phenomenal Chicago style chicken, his big heart, and even bigger smile,” was forced to miss weeks of work because of the injuries he sustained in the attack last month. He was expected to return to manning his LoRell’s Chicken Shack food cart this past Sunday, but he still needs financial help amid the ongoing “recovery process,” the GoFundMe says in part.
“All donations will be directly deposited into LoRell’s business account and used to cover Darell’s medical costs, legal representation, and other business costs associated with him being unable to work his food cart,” the GoFundMe added.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, the GoFundMe to help Preston has ballooned to nearly $85,000, thanks to generous donations from more than 2,000 individual contributions. When the GoFundMe account was first set up, it had only been seeking $10,000.
To donate to the GoFundMe and further offer support to Preston during his recovery, click here.
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