Brewery raising money for son of Alexa Stakely, mother who died trying to stop carjacking

A Southeast Side brewery has planned a charity drive to benefit the son of a woman who died trying to stop her vehicle from being stolen with the child inside.

Loose Rail Brewing , located at 37 W. Waterloo St., in Canal Winchester, is hosting the fundraiser from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. July 22. Money raised from the event will benefit the 6-year-old son of Alexa Stakely , who died about 1:30 a.m. Thursday after being struck by her own vehicle.

Stakely went to the apartment complex on the 6300 block of Blue Knoll Drive after her waitressing shift to pick up her son from her babysitter.

Stakely also worked as a speech pathologist for Canal Winchester Local Schools and had picked up the second job to help support her son.

Columbus police said Stakely took her sleeping son out to her Honda CRV and left the vehicle running while she went returned the front door of the home to retrieve something she forgot. When Stakely turned around, she saw her vehicle backing up, with her son inside, and began yelling and running after the car.

The SUV struck and killed Stakely. Authorities found the vehicle a short distance away along with her unharmed son.

Columbus police have not identified any suspects in the case . The only description released by police thus far has been that the suspects are believed to be males.

The charity drive at Loose Rail will feature a banner for students and friends of the school district to sign, memorial journals to be filled with words of encouragement for Stakely's family, face painting, yard games, s'mores kits and baked goods.

The brewery said 100% of its sales, and 100% of the sales from Lyle's Bakery and Catering, who will be selling baked goods at the event, will go to a trust that has been set up for Stakely's son.

Following Stakely's death, there has been an outpouring of support from the community. An online fundraiser has raised more than $69,000 as of Monday morning , far exceeding its initial goal of $15,000.

Anyone with information about Stakely's death is asked to call detectives at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS. All calls to Crime Stoppers are anonymous.

bbruner@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Brewery raising money for son of Alexa Stakely, mother who died trying to stop carjacking