Friends of child and ‘bonus dad’ hit by truck to throw auction dinner in support to help cover medical expenses

Over a month after a 9-year-old and her “bonus dad” were knocked off their motorcycle by a suspected intoxicated driver, family friends are gearing up to host a fundraising dinner to support the family.

Mayzee Wilson and her mom’s boyfriend, William “Billy” Cochran, 31, both suffered serious injuries in the collision. Mayzee’s leg snapped, leaving her temporarily wheelchair bound, while Cochran was hospitalized for 11 days.

Jacob Susol, 44, is being held at the Spokane County Jail on suspicion of two counts of vehicular assault for driving the vehicle that hit the motorcyclists. Court documents said that Susol has two prior DUI charges.

While both are still unable to walk on their own, Mayzee’s mom, Bethany Freeland, said they are getting better by the day. Mayzee has been in good spirits, but Freeland said she and Cochran have been struggling to adjust mentally.

In a previous interview with The Spokesman-Review, Freeland said Cochran was the sole source of income for their family, and because he just began work as a truck driver, he did not have health insurance set up.

“We’re just trying to raise money to cover Billy and Bethany’s medical and family expenses,” Rebecca Casey said. “Or at least help, especially with the little one on the way.”

Freeland is around 27 weeks pregnant with her and Cochran’s first baby together.

Casey has been a friend of Freeland’s for a couple of years, meeting Mayzee and Cochran through an annual monster-truck mud crawl event in Idaho.

Along with three other friends, Casey has been planning a benefit dinner to help support the family.

The public can come to the Finnoe Design and Fabrication building at 2425 E. Magnesium Road for a $25 barbecue dinner with  live music and a silent auction, followed by a live auction for donated goods at 6 p.m. on Friday.

Donated bowling passes, vintage sports memorabilia, massage coupons, power tools and more will be auctioned off after dinner.

“Everybody’s been willing to help and wanting to contribute,” Casey said. “It’s been amazing. We had no idea that it was going to go this well.”

Casey said that she knew that Freeland and Cochran were “going to ask for less than they need,” so she wanted to step up to help them during recovery.

“It’s been overwhelming to know we have so many people on our side,” Freeland said.

This article has been updated to clarify that there is a silent auction during the dinner portion of the event and then a live auction afterwards.