The middle school student and her dog were struck by a car after the dog ran off into a busy road
A 12-year-old Virginia girl and her dog will be buried together after the pair was tragically hit and killed by a car over the weekend.
Jennarae Goodbar, of Lexington, was training her dog Cash — or Cashiemomo as she liked to call her — outside of her home on Saturday when the dog suddenly took off running towards a busy road in Rockbridge County, WTVR reported.
As Goodbar desperately tried to catch her beloved pet, they both ran out in front of a car and were hit by a driver who was unable to stop in time, according to the local news outlet.
Tragically, the man driving the car was a family friend, WFXR reports.
The bond between Goodbar and Cash was a special one: the Maury River Middle School student reportedly purchased the dog with her own money and treated her like “her baby,” Donna Jean Stuples, Goodbar’s mother, told WTVR.
Stuples also explained that Cash and Jennarae will be buried together on the day of her funeral. The service is scheduled for this upcoming Saturday in Lexington.
In her obituary in The News-Gazette, the 12-year-old’s family wrote that “she never met a stranger” and should be remembered, “as the country girl who was always smiling, never negative, could go from wearing cowboy boots and pants to a dress with Converse in a split second.”
“Jennarae was loved by so many, there are so many people who we can’t even begin to name but just know that she did not meet a stranger and she loved everyone so dearly,” her family said.
Following the accident, a GoFundMe page was set up in Goodbar’s memory, with donations going to the family to assist with the funeral, burial, and other unexpected costs.
“Jennarae Nicole Goodbar was killed in a tragic accident this afternoon,” the page reads. “She will always be remembered as a sweet, energetic, dog loving, hunting loving little girl — a little girl who touched the lives of many.”
Since the campaign was created on Saturday, it has raised over $13,000.
Local police are currently investigating the tragic crash. Authorities did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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