Tragedy strikes generous family - Update: Cd'A police officers ready to help
JEFF SELLE/jselle@cdapress.com | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 7 months AGO
<p>This file photo published by The Press shortly after the death of Sgt. Greg Moore, Kiahna Kirk, 10, raised $200 for the children of Sgt. Greg Moore, who lost their father when he was shot and killed in the line of duty. Kiahna raised the money by selling lemonade and Rice Crispies treats in the days following Moore's death. The little girl's own father, Jeff Kirk, 37, died Sunday after the vehicle he was driving was struck by a vehicle that ran a red light on U.S. 95. From left: Daymian Reese, 6; Robert Kirk, 4 and Reed Kirk, 4; and Kiahna Kirk.</p>
<p>A framed photo taken several years ago of Jeff Kirk with his daughter, Kiahna, who is now 10, sits on a shelf in the office of Kiahna's grandmother's Coeur d'Alene business.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - The man killed in a Hayden car crash Sunday was the father of a girl featured in The Press for raising $200 for the family of Sgt. Greg Moore.
Jeffrey Kirk, 37, Coeur d'Alene, was traveling westbound on Honeysuckle Avenue in a 1997 Honda Accord when Gary Dixon, 42, Post Falls, was traveling northbound in a 2007 Chevy Suburban on U.S. 95. According to Idaho State Police, Dixon ran a red light and struck Kirk's vehicle in the driver side door. Kirk later died as a result of his injuries.
Just days before the tragic accident, Kirk's daughter Kiahna Kirk, 10, sold lemonade and baked goods to raise $200 for Moore's children after she heard at school about the tragic shooting.
Kiahna asked her family if they could do anything to help the Moore family and they decided she should do a lemonade stand, her grandmother, Hermine Sittel Kubista, said.
Kubista said she gave Kiahna some money to buy supplies and they went to Jeff Kirk's house to set up the stand.
Kirk's mother, Ginger Kirk, said she was with Kiahna when she held the fundraiser and it was a heart-warming experience.
"This community is such a caring community," she said, adding people were stopping to ask why she was selling the lemonade and when they found out it was for Sgt. Moore they really supported her efforts.
"The people here are just so generous," Ginger said. "Coeur d'Alene is such a great community to live in. I am so lucky to live here."
Kubista said the whole ordeal is devastating for Kirk's family.
"He was a great father. We are heartbroken," she said. "He belongs here. Now there is a big void in the family."
Kubista said what makes it hard for the family to accept is that Kirk was killed by someone who was allegedly running a red light.
"That was such an unconscious act," she said, adding she wished people would pay more attention when driving. "You cannot go through life that way. There are other people out there too. You have to pay attention."
Kubista said the most tragic thing is the fact that Kirk is leaving behind four children who looked up to him as a father.
"Now there are four kids with no daddy," she said. "We are all hurting."
The family has set up a memorial fund under the name Jeffrey P. Kirk at Wells Fargo Bank for those who wish to help the family with death-related expenses.
ARTICLES BY JEFF SELLE/JSELLE@CDAPRESS.COM
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