Financial support from friends of Thomas Poynton Jr. is pouring in for his widow and 2-year-old daughter, via a GoFundMe page established Tuesday.
Poynton was killed in a freak accident Tuesday at his 250 Royal Manor Court home, near Raubsville, Williams Township.
Authorities have said he was in his yard with his dogs when a live wire fell on the yard, some distance away from him. The electricity traveled through the ground and killed Poynton and one of the dogs, and also set the home on fire, drawing a large response from volunteer companies throughout the area.
The home is located next to a Metropolitan Edison power substation, and authorities are reportedly investigating how the accident happened and whether it could have been related to severe weather that rocked the area Monday evening.
Poynton, 32, was a well-liked teacher and assistant football coach at Palisades High School, where grief counselors are on hand today and Thursday, according to reports on Lehigh Valley Live. He was a graduate of Wilson Area High School.
As of Wednesday morning more than $11,000 had been raised for Poynton’s family by 216 donors, many of whom have also expressed their condolences on the GoFundMe page.
“Today Sarah Poynton lost Thomas Poynton, her perfect husband and prince charming. They were best friends since eighth grade and married in 2010. Then they welcomed Anna in 2014,” wrote Jill Amato, who created the GoFundMe and asked that visitors to the page help spread the word about it.
Poynton died in “a tragic accident that also ended in a house fire,” Amato said. “As well as losing one of their beloved golden retievers Stella. Please help support Sarah and her and Thomas’s daughter Anna. This will mean so much to the family.”
