Good Samaritan James Fofanah was just 20 years old when he died while he was helping a stranded motorist. Rather than being laid to rest with the hero’s burial he deserves, Mr. Fofanah’s body is now trapped in legal limbo as his family fights for the right to bury him. We are Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin, and today we are here again to report yet another instance of child protective agencies grossly overstepping their boundaries. How does it serve this child or the adult he became to deny him a burial in his own cultural tradition?

Details of the Tragedy

Fofanah died around 3:00 a.m. on Interstate 635 in Garland on Friday July 21, 2017, after pulling over on the shoulder to help Mikayla Prince, also age 20. Prince had just been struck and had lost control of her vehicle while speeding, and then Ashlynn Hurley, age 23, killed him. Hurley is now facing a charge of intoxication manslaughter after striking Hurley’s car, which then crushed Fofanah. He lived without his family, he died without his family, and now there is also a question about whether or not he will be buried according to his family’s traditions.

Who is the Real Family?

When James’s caregivers were accused of mistreatment in 2011, the family was permanently stripped of their rights, making CPS his legal family. Although Fofonah had aged out of the system at 18, he was still receiving extended support services, and it is reported that he was adored by CPS workers and the community. Despite this, the deceased hero’s father, Foday Fofanah, hopes to have a burial that will honor the family’s Sierra Leonean culture. We, Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin, hope this former foster child’s body can be laid to rest soon and that his family has some kind of closure.