CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The Mia Stokes Foundation has donated 1,000 Uber gift cards in memory of a Charlotte teen who was killed in a drunk-driving crash in 2020.
On Tuesday, New Year’s Eve, the foundation handed out 1,000 $25 Uber vouchers that were claimed in about two hours. The group gifted 1,000 vouchers in 2023 and 368 in 2022.
“All vouchers were claimed in two hours and nine minutes. Thank you to all the donations we received and to everyone who took the step to get home safely,” Mia Stokes Foundation shared.
The foundation is asking folks to tag them on social and use #ThankYouMia on your Uber ride.
Mia Stokes and her identical twin, Mallory, as well as two others, were inside a vehicle that was struck head-on by driver Yuriy Karpik, on February 7, 2020, in Spartanburg County, SC.
The four women were students at USC Union. Mia Stokes, 18, of Charlotte, NC, and Grace Revels, 20, of Lancaster, SC, died from their injuries.
The driver, Karpik, pleaded guilty in July 2023 to five counts, including two counts of felony DUI resulting in death and felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury.
A judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison of which he must serve at least 17. He has already served 3 years, leaving, at minimum, 14 more. Following that, he will serve five years of home detention and another five years of probation.
