$11K raised for funeral of Lehigh County teen in fatal wood chipper accident

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An online fundraiser launched to help the parents of a Coplay teen who died Tuesday in a wood-chipper accident has surpassed $11,000.

As of Friday afternoon, the GoFundMe for Isiah M. Bedocs’ parents, Amy and Louis Bedocs, raised $11,005 of its $20,000 goal for a funeral service for their 17-year-old son. The funeral is planned for Aug. 15.

Christine Castro, a family friend who spearheaded the effort, said the support of 244 donors means so much to the family.

“This family has a long road of recovery ahead of them,” she posted.

Bedocs was working with a friend on a summer job with a tree-cutting company in the 3700 block of Excelsior Road in North Whitehall Township, according to Pennsylvania State Police and Castro. Police said his clothing caught in the wood chipper. Troopers and emergency medical personnel attempted to treat Bedocs before he was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital’s Cedar Crest Campus in Salisbury Township.

Bedocs was pronounced dead at 2:55 p.m. Tuesday at the hospital from multiple traumatic injuries, Coroner Daniel A. Buglio said. The death was ruled an accident.

Bedocs was a senior in the Whitehall-Coplay School District. He leaves behind his mother and stepfather, father and stepmother, a brother and sisters, according to the posting.

“(He) had his whole life ahead of him,” Castro said. “He was a happy teenager who went to work and sadly didn’t come home.”

The state police Criminal Investigation Unit out of Bethlehem is heading the investigation with the assistance of the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Nathan Branosky said.

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.

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