Community support for Tennessee family involved in deadly Mother’s Day wreck spreads to Alabama

JACKSON COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — The Paint Rock Volunteer Fire Department hosted a barbecue to raise money for a Fayetteville, Tennessee, family involved in a deadly wreck earlier in May.

On May 11, a truck pulling cargo for Amazon hit six cars on I-75 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with two of the cars catching fire in the crash. Two people were killed, and eight others were injured and taken to nearby hospitals. The Smith family was among those injured and killed in the wreck.

The father, Lane, was pronounced dead on the scene. His 22-month-old son, Sawyer, died at a local hospital May 18, exactly one week after the wreck. The mother, Baleigh, and 8-year-old sister, Brynlee, were seriously injured in the wreck. Brynlee is being treated for burns at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Since the wreck, businesses across Lincoln County, Tennessee, have poured out their support for the family. The Bank of Lincoln County opened a donation account for the Smith family, something representatives said is crucial because of fraudulent activity on online donation platforms. 

Saturday’s barbeque showed the support for the Smiths crosses state lines. The goal was to sell over 400 plates in an effort to raise about $8,000.

Lane’s grandparents, Betty and Danny Johnson, attended the event and described their grandson as an extraordinary person.

“Always a smile on his face. Helped everybody in the community,” Danny Johnson said. “Just somebody that you couldn’t believe was to be 23-year-old and be that much of a man.”

Johnson said young Sawyer loved to be with his dad.

“Every time Lane got off, he was on the tractor or on the gator going to feed the cows,” Johnson said. “He loved his moo moos.”

The grandparents called the tragedy a nightmare.

“You feel like it’s unbearable at times,” Betty Johnson said.

“It’s the worst nightmare you can have,” Danny Johnson said. “Just unbelievable. I never dreamed of it.”

Paint Rock Fire Chief Finis Johnson knows Danny and Betty, which is why his department stepped in to help.

“We’re just helping. That’s all I can say. Wanted to do something to help,” Finis Johnson said. “It’s a tragedy and everything like that, and if the community can come together and help support something like that, it’s good.”

The outpouring of support from people who don’t even know the family means the world to them.

“People here are extraordinary,” Danny Johnson said. “Small community and their heart just goes out, and they’re willing to help.”

“This is what you call America and Americans. Everybody wants to help. A lot of kind-hearted people,” Danny Johnson said. “There’s a lot of bad people, too, but I’m going to say the majority have a heart, and they’re willing to help when needed, and we just appreciate this so much.”