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Fundraisers Held, Accident Victim's Mom Hasn't Seen Money

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Reporter: Mike McKnight

Fundraisers Held, Accident Victim's Mom Hasn't Seen Money

A happy toddler is on the mend after her mother accidentally ran over her earlier in the summer. Since then, there have been several fundraisers in the child's name, but mom has questions about where the donations went.

“Backed over her head.” Forgetting she sat her daughter beside the car led to a near tragedy Jami Marcano will never forget. “The trauma of seeing your child in such a state knowing you did this to her.”

Jami says Lincoln police didn't ticket her and car insurance is covering the medical bills, including a visit from a specialist. “She had three skull fractures.”

Yet there have been three fundraisers for 2-year-old Aubree Cummins. “They all say that they are to benefit my daughter and help pay her medical expenses and we have not seen a dime of any of this,” says Jami, who has full custody of Aubree.

Jami opened a benefit account, but no money from the three fundraisers has been deposited in it. A fundraising car wash for Aubree was held in July and since then two more fundraisers promising to benefit the recovering child were held, but neither Jami or Aubree were invited to attend.

Aubree's biological father tells Fact Finders he opened his own account for his daughter and deposited $2,000 from the fundraisers. “She can have money for anything, anything she needs,” says dad Doah Cummins. “If I'm to pay some medical bills before she turns 19 I can do that, too. I'm doing it for her.”

The Better Business Bureau found that the fundraisers may have been well intended, but donors to any benefit should be prudent. “That's who you are writing the check to, you know, to a trust care of a local bank rather than to an individual,” says the BBB’s Jim Hegarty.

Questions aside, the fundraisers showed that Aubree’s brush with death caught the attention of many people. “I hope it's a lesson to all parents to be safe and take time to double check.”

Jami says she filed a report asking police to investigate other fundraising efforts. However, Lincoln police say there's no evidence the other fundraisers violated the law.