Former YouTube Star Tré Melvin is hospitalized in stable condition following a car accident Monday that killed his friend Katheyra “Kathy” Mendoza.
Kathy’s sister Nashali Mendoza started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help pay for funeral costs.
“We tragically lost our beloved sister, and daughter to a car accident. We need as much help as possible to be able to give her the funeral she deserves,” Mendoza’s GoFundMe post read. “She was taken too soon from us, but we want to make sure we can do everything we can to honor her while we say goodbye. We cannot express how destroyed we are. We will always love her. Thank you to anyone who donates and helps my family in this horrible time.”
Melvin’s team issued a statement June 23 noting, “early Monday morning, Tré was involved in a severe auto collision with his friend Katherya.” At the time, the statement read, “Both are currently hospitalized and have suffered brain injuries. While Tré is stable, Kathy is unresponsive.”
Melvin took to Twitter Monday evening to declare his friend’s death, writing, “I survived a fatal crash. My best friend didn’t. I don’t think I have ever been this numb. Ever. If you can, please donate to her funeral costs.”
Melvin added that he suffered internal bleeding in the brain but that he felt he’s lucky to be alive.
“To those asking, I’m (physically) okay. I was knocked unconscious on impact and my brain bled fairly heavily but the bleeding stabilized this morning. My neck + my back want me dead, but that’s what meds are for. I’m alive and I’m grateful,” he wrote.
The exact circumstances of the accident remain unclear but Melvin called it a hit-and-run. “To whoever hit us, and ran: Kathy is now an ancestor. She will lead us to you,” Melvin tweeted Monday night.
Melvin launched his own venture, TreMelvin.tv, June 1, to offer videos and content for a monthly, ad-free subscription. Melvin also said he will no longer put his content on YouTube.
Melvin explained that he was moving away from YouTube as a response to the company’s policies and widespread civil rights protests across the United States. “I will no longer allow the platform to censor my pain. I will no longer allow the platform to demonetize my pain. I will no longer sit at a table both my blackness and my queerness have never truly been welcome at. I will build my own,” he tweeted last month.
Melvin’s sister, Kaylah Melvin, took to social media to also mourn Kathy’s passing. “My brother is a walking miracle,” she said. “I honestly can’t believe he’s still here but I am so grateful. I feel like I’m looking at and talking to an angel. I do not want to believe my KitKat is gone. I just can’t.”
See their tweets below:
https://twitter.com/TreMelvin/status/1275581163940315137
https://twitter.com/TreMelvin/status/1275584969474269186
My brother is a walking miracle. I honestly can’t believe he’s still here but I am so grateful. I feel like I’m looking at and talking to an angel. I do not want to believe my KitKat is gone. I just can’t.
— OhKay💋 (@taneemelvin) June 24, 2020