Wells Adams is showering girlfriend Sarah Hyland with love and support following the death of her 14-year-old cousin.
On Sunday, less than a week after the Modern Family star announced that her cousin, Trevor Canaday, was killed in a drunk driving accident, Adams took to Instagram to publicly show his support.
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“This beautiful specimen has had a tough couple of weeks,” he captioned a photo of himself and Hyland. “I’m here to remind you @sarahhyland that there is light amongst all the darkness. If you ever doubt that, just look at this picture and remember how awesome we are. Throw on some sweats, order some Postmates and put on Home Alone. I’ll be home soon.”
Adams had been one of the many people close to Hyland to share a link to a GoFundMe page that the actress had shared when making the tragic announcement, claiming that her cousin had been in the vehicle with his father when 36-year-old Jeffrey Eggeling ran a red light and struck their vehicle, ejecting Canaday from his seat. Canaday’s father, Bryan Canaday, suffered serious injuries in the accident and was taken to the hospital, where he underwent surgery.
“We’re trying to raise some money for the family,” Adams wrote in his tweet sharing the GoFundMe link. “Please swipe up to donate. Anything helps.”
The GoFundMe page has since raised $44,623 of its initial $25,000, which has since been raised to a $40,000 goal. Hyland’s Modern Family co-stars, including Ariel Winter and Nolan Gould, also shared the link to the page, with Winter making a $2,500 donation.
Although she had good intention, Hyland initially faced backlash from fans for asking them for donations, prompting her to respond to the criticism.
“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,” she wrote. “You don’t know all the details. And how dare you attack when a beautiful life has been lost.”
Hyland has since taken a break from social media, announcing on Twitter “you guys finally did it. Your horrible negative ignorant words have broken me. Happy? Staying offline for a while.”
Eggeling, who was reportedly driving while under the influence of alcohol, has been charged with vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a personal injury crash, and two counts of DUI causing serious injury. He faces up to 50 years in jail.
