Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

A family 'unforgotten'

After years of hardship caused by a suicidal driver, the Tippies receive $15,000 from a fundraiser held on their behalf.

By RICK GERSHMAN and REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published November 20, 2006

	The Tippie family spent the day at Islands of Adventure. They were treated to a long weekend at a resort in Orlando, visiting several of the area's theme parks and getting wined and dined before their fundraiser on Sunday.
[Times photo: Melissa Lyttle]

The Tippie family's weekend started out with pure amusement: Universal Studios Orlando on Friday, Sea World on Saturday.

But Sunday night, after fun and games were over, the Tippies' true reward arrived in the form of more than $15,000.

That was the money raised in a fundraiser in Orlando to help the family, which had fallen on hard times since patriarch Edward Tippie of Tampa, a commercial truck driver, was involved in a deadly crash.

Sunday's fundraiser will ensure that Tippie, his wife Tania, their children and three nephews they care for have a home to live in together for at least a year, organizer John D. Smith said.

The couple have been split between two Hillsborough County residences since being evicted in September for failing to pay their rent for two months.

In September 2003, Tippie was driving on Interstate 4 near Orlando when a suicidal man pulled a sport utility vehicle into the path of Tippie's truck. The crash killed the man, Bryan Randall, and one of Randall's sons.

A traumatized Tippie lost his job the next day when he told his supervisor he wasn't ready to drive again.

It was months before he was able to get back behind the wheel of a car, let alone a commercial truck.

Progressive Insurance declined to pay Tippie anything for lost wages or back injuries he sustained because the crash was ruled an intentional act by the suicidal father. A jury recently agreed with the insurer's position.

A gift with stipulations

Smith, an Orlando businessman, took an interest in the Tippies' story after reading a recent article in the Orlando Sentinel about the family's misfortune.

With Ellen Tatich of Westgate Resorts in Orlando, Smith organized Sunday's benefit with the goal of finding and furnishing a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the Tampa area for the Tippies to live in with bills paid a year in advance.

"I think $15,000 should be enough - and money's still coming in because we haven't been able to check the mail for two days" because of the amusement park trips, Smith said.

Tania Tippie said only a couple of the children had been to Universal Studios before, and none had been to Sea World: "It was wonderful. I thought Sea World was awesome. We're just very excited."

Under the terms of the gift, Smith said he plans to help the Tippies become better financial stewards.

Edward Tippie will be expected to put 30 to 50 percent of his income into savings. Additionally, Smith plans to link the family with an adviser who can help them plan and keep a budget.

"They need guidance and they need an advocate," said Smith, who said he'd invested more than $1,800 of his own money toward helping the family.

"These are people with a lot of strength and as recently as a month ago, they had been forgotten. Our goal is to make them 'unforgotten.' "

To learn more about the family, visit www.reunitethetippiefamily.com. 

[Last modified November 20, 2006, 10:18:04]