SACO — Earlier this month, Li Zhen Wu was tragically killed when a vehicle struck her. Affectionately known as Ms. Li, she was hit by a car while she was in a crosswalk near her home on Nov. 1 and died that night at a hospital. She was 73.

Though a language barrier prevented many of her Saco neighbors from having conversations with Ms. Li, “she would nod and smile” as she passed residents, Chelsea Hill said, when collecting returnable bottles and cans with her husband, according to the Press Herald. It was common to see her walking around the Bradley Street area, usually pushing a cart. Hill, who lives in the neighborhood, said people would often bundle bottles together and leave them out for Wu and her husband to pick up on trash days.

Wanting to help her family, neighbors set up a gofundme page that is near its $15,000 goal, having raised $14,310 as of 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Other neighbors also want to help, including St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church located on Bradley Street.

The Saco church will be holding a spaghetti dinner fundraiser on Monday, Nov. 20 from 4 to 7 p.m. in the church hall at 186 Bradley St. There is no set recommended donation; donations will be free-will offereings. All donations will go to Ms. Li’s family, fundraiser organizer Pota Desjardins said. She said the church wants to give back to the community and this is one way it can do so.

Press Herald Staff Writer Gillian Graham contributed to this story.

Comments are not available on this story.

filed under: