A 21-year-old Port Charlotte man is not expected to survive after being struck by a car while riding his longboard to work last Wednesday, and his family has launched a fundraiser to help cover his final expenses. Gauge Friday suffered critical injuries in the crash, and his mother says the family is now preparing for him to die.
According to the Charlotte Sun, Friday's family launched a GoFundMe campaign titled “Help Cover Gauge Friday's Final Expenses and Carrying Him On” to raise money for cremation and other costs as they prepare for his death. His mother, Kinzel Friday, organized the effort and said her family's lives changed the day of the crash forever. As of yesterday, the campaign, hosted on GoFundMe, had drawn contributions from 97 donors.
The Charlotte Sun reports the campaign had raised more than $7,600 for the family. GoFundMe does not charge a fee to start a personal fundraiser, though the platform automatically retains a payment processing fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents per donation in the United States before the remaining funds reach the beneficiary.
A Family Facing an Impossible Goodbye
Friday's family is preparing not just for his death but for what comes after it, telling the Charlotte Sun they anticipate he will not survive his injuries. The family has said Gauge will not get to be forever 21, a line that underscores how abruptly his life was upended while simply commuting to work on his longboard.
Despite the grief, the family has found some measure of purpose in the fact that Gauge Friday is an organ donor, and that his donation may give others a chance at life. Deceased organ and tissue donation in Florida is coordinated through designated regional nonprofits such as LifeLink of Florida, and a single donor can save up to eight lives and benefit as many as 75 people through tissue donation, according to Donate Life Florida.
Longboarders Share the Road Under Florida Law
Under Florida Statute §316.2065, human-powered devices like longboards and bicycles are treated as vehicles under the state's uniform traffic laws, meaning riders have standard rights to travel on public roadways but must also follow traffic signals and directional rules, according to the Florida Bicycle Association. It remains unclear what specific circumstances led to the September 2 crash that struck Gauge Friday, and the dossier available does not include details from a police crash report, the street conditions, or any potential charges against the driver.
A Pattern of Danger for Non-Motorized Riders
Friday's crash adds to a troubling run of incidents involving young, non-motorized riders in Charlotte County. In May, a 17-year-old electric bicycle rider in Port Charlotte was critically injured and later died after being struck by an SUV at Coliseum Boulevard and Wilmington Boulevard, a crash that led to felony charges after the driver initially fled the scene, as Hoodline previously reported. In February, a high-speed head-on collision on Harborview Road in Charlotte County killed two people, including a 12-year-old girl.
These local crashes reflect a broader statewide crisis. Florida recorded 10,736 pedestrian crashes in 2025 that resulted in 614 deaths, accounting for more than 20% of all traffic fatalities in the state even though pedestrian collisions make up less than 3% of total crashes, per data reported by USA Today. Smart Growth America's 2026 “Dangerous by Design” report ranked Florida the fifth deadliest state in the nation for pedestrians, citing an average fatality rate of 3.32 per 100,000 residents between 2020 and 2024, wide multi-lane roadways, high vehicle speeds, and sparse crosswalks as contributing factors.
Statewide, Florida logged roughly 366,300 total motor vehicle collisions in 2025, causing 2,930 deaths and 238,440 injuries, according to data cited by Swope, Rodante P.A. Nationally, the Governors Highway Safety Association projected 6,732 pedestrian deaths in 2025, a 7% drop from the year before but still 5% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
For now, Gauge Friday's family is focused on saying goodbye and covering the costs that come with it. The GoFundMe remains active as friends, family, and the wider community continue to contribute toward final expenses for the 21-year-old.
