CRESTVIEW — Runners' safety is a top concern for David Patterson, founder of the Crestview Runners Group.
After all, some of the six-week-old group's members have been in situations where 3,000 pounds of moving steel compete with their vulnerable frames.
'A LOT OF NEAR MISSES'
"In Crestview, I've had a lot of near misses," Jennifer Chitwood Newman said. For instance, "I was able to get to the side of the car (on Redstone Avenue), so I was only clipped by the mirror as (the driver) ran off the road, slinging rocks and dirt in my face."
"In Niceville, on (Northwest Florida State College's)campus, a kid rolled through a stop sign and his fender hit my leg, but at least he stopped to see if I was OK," she said.
Patterson said a friend in Niceville received back surgery about a year ago after a car hit him while he was biking.
"To this day he's never been the same," Patterson said.
So when Valerie Michelle Camacho, a 17-year-old Crestview High School student, died Sept. 18 after a motorist struck her during a Sept. 16 morning jog, it hit close to home.
And the running group's members wanted to help.
HONORING VALERIE
"When the accident happened, my Facebook group lit up, (with) our group board asking for her whereabouts and if we could do anything for the family," Patterson said. "It started with flowers, then a gift basket, and then we decided we should wait to see how things were going to turn out…"
On Sept. 21, after they learned about the accident's fatal outcome, 25 Crestview area runners ran in Valerie's honor.
"That's when we met Manuel, Valerie's dad, and really started pushing for the idea of the scholarship fund," Patterson said. "We wanted something that keeps giving back to this community to honor her."
The group hopes to raise $10,000 and award at least one $500 scholarship per school year. To be eligible, Crestview High School students must be avid runners, devoted to the study of science and have at least a 3.5 grade point average, scholarship organizers said.
In just two days since the fund's establishment, the first year's award is already covered; 10 people have raised $512 at GoFundMe.
Patterson said that in addition to honoring Valerie's memory, he started the fundraising account because helping the community is important.
"Anything you do for yourself dies with you … what you do for others' lives forever," he said.
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WHAT: Valerie Camacho Scholarship Fund. Donate here>>
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WHAT: Crestview Running Group
WHEN: Meets at 6:30 a.m. Sundays except for Sept. 28.
WHERE: Various locations "to keep our routes new and interesting," founder David Patterson says
NOTES: Free membership. See www.facebook.com/groups/CrestviewRunning/ for more information
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Runners honor Crestview teen's memory with scholarship fund