'Modern Family' Star Sarah Hyland Battles Back After Haters Speak Ill of Deceased Cousin

Sarah Hyland is fighting back against online trolls who have been bullying her after the death of [...]

By Hannah Barnes

Sarah Hyland is fighting back against online trolls who have been bullying her after the death of her cousin, 14-year-old Trevor Canaday.

Canaday and his father were traveling to an event on Dec. 1 when they were involved in an accident in Omaha, Nebraska with a reportedly drunk driver.

On Monday, Dec. 3, Hyland took to Twitter to condemn those who had been inundating her with negative comments in the wake of her family's tragedy, writing, "I'd like to ask those who have negative thoughts or opinions about the tragedy that happened to my family, to keep them to themselves. You don't know all the details. And how dare you attack when a beautiful life has been lost."

While the actress didn't specify the nature of the attacks she was receiving, she did receive criticism on social media for asking fans to donate money to her family.

Hyland later announced that she would be taking a break from social media, tweeting that the trolls had finally gotten what they wanted.

"You guys finally did it. Your horrible negative ignorant words have broken me," she wrote. "Happy? Staying offline for a while. I have a special announcement and video releasing on Wednesday I believe. So. There's that."

The Modern Family star originally announced her cousin's death on Dec. 2, writing that Canaday had been killed and his father was in the hospital awaiting more surgeries. She asked fans to keep her family in their prayers and also to donate to a GoFundMe page she shared that is raising money for funeral expenses and medical costs for the family.

Hyland wrote in her next tweet that Jeffrey Eggerling had two prior DUIs, and police documents obtained by PEOPLE show that Eggerling had a blood alcohol concentration of .103. The legal limit is .08.

"The driver of the at-fault vehicle, who was later identified as Jeffrey Eggeling, left the scene of the collision on foot," the report states. "The collision resulted in two individuals from the other involved vehicle suffering life-threatening injuries. Eggeling was located on foot a short distance from the collision scene."

Photo Credit: Getty / Rich Polk

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