{"id":2575,"date":"2025-03-12T23:19:14","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T23:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandrapidspost.com\/?p=2575"},"modified":"2025-03-12T05:35:08","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T05:35:08","slug":"portage-man-receives-generous-community-support-after-hit-and-run-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandrapidspost.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/12\/portage-man-receives-generous-community-support-after-hit-and-run-accident\/","title":{"rendered":"Portage Man Receives Generous Community Support After Hit-and-Run Accident"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"w-full text-token-text-primary focus-visible:outline-2 focus-visible:outline-offset-[-4px]\" dir=\"auto\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-5\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\">\n<div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto py-[18px] px-6\">\n<div class=\"mx-auto flex flex-1 text-base gap-4 md:gap-5 lg:gap-6 md:max-w-3xl\">\n<div class=\"group\/conversation-turn relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn @xs\/thread:px-0 @sm\/thread:px-1.5 @md\/thread:px-4\">\n<div class=\"flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col flex-grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 whitespace-normal break-words text-start [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-5\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"2a5b2e03-8a18-4e86-8f3d-6d4ce1919034\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-4o-mini\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[3px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert light\">\n<p data-start=\"80\" data-end=\"238\">PORTAGE, Mich. \u2014 A Portage man who was the victim of a hit-and-run last month is now the proud owner of a new car, thanks to the generosity of his community.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"240\" data-end=\"624\">TJ Day, a long-time cyclist, had been riding his bike to work for over a decade when the accident occurred. On the evening of the crash, Day was heading home from his job at Walgreens, following his usual route when a vehicle struck him. Despite wearing all of his safety gear, including a helmet and reflective clothing, the driver of the vehicle fled the scene, leaving Day injured.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"626\" data-end=\"984\">The hit-and-run left Day with injuries that forced him to take time off from work. His family reported that he has been recovering steadily and hopes to return to his job within the next week. Day, who has been a familiar face to many customers at Walgreens, is eager to get back to work and reconnect with those he&#8217;s built relationships with over the years.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"986\" data-end=\"1359\">In a remarkable display of community spirit, friends, family, and even strangers in Portage rallied together to help Day in his time of need. A fundraising campaign was launched, and in just a few weeks, more than $20,000 was raised to help him purchase a new car\u2014something that will help him regain his independence and continue his daily life without relying on his bike.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1361\" data-end=\"1640\">The overwhelming support from the community has been a source of hope and gratitude for Day, who, despite the challenges he&#8217;s faced, is thankful for the kindness shown by so many. &#8220;I never expected anything like this,&#8221; Day said. &#8220;It&#8217;s truly humbling to see how many people care.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1642\" data-end=\"1984\">The investigation into the hit-and-run is ongoing, with local authorities continuing to search for the driver responsible for the incident. However, the outpouring of support from the Portage community has brought some light to a difficult situation, proving that in times of hardship, the strength of a community can make all the difference.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1986\" data-end=\"2158\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Day\u2019s story stands as a reminder of the kindness that can arise in the face of adversity, and how a community can come together to make a real difference in someone\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-2 flex gap-3 -ml-2\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center justify-start rounded-xl p-1\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mt-3 w-full empty:hidden\">\n<div class=\"text-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"absolute\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"pointer-events-none h-px w-px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-edge=\"true\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PORTAGE, Mich. \u2014 A Portage man who was the victim of a hit-and-run last month is now the proud owner of a new car, thanks to the generosity of his community. TJ Day, a long-time cyclist, had been riding his bike to work for over a decade when the accident occurred. On the evening of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2579,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2575","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandrapidspost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandrapidspost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandrapidspost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandrapidspost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandrapidspost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2575"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandrapidspost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2582,"href":"https:\/\/grandrapidspost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2575\/revisions\/2582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandrapidspost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandrapidspost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandrapidspost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandrapidspost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}