Tractor-Trailer Wreck Delays Supplies for Smoky Mountain Children’s Home

A truckload of supplies bound for Smoky Mountain Children’s Home in Sevierville has been delayed indefinitely after a tractor-trailer from the organization God’s Pit Crew was involved in a horrific accident.

According to Virginia State Police, the God’s Pit Crew tractor-trailer was traveling on Interstate 77 in Carroll County when it hydroplaned during a heavy rain, causing the truck to run off the left side of the interstate through several hundred feet of guardrail and careening down a steep embankment, where it finally came to rest at the bottom of a ravine.

Police set up a detour to facilitate the recovery of the tractor-trailer, which took four heavy-duty wreckers to pull out of the ravine, and the repair of the roadway and guardrail by the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, 68-year-old William S. Allgood, of Ringold, Va., was not injured in the crash.

Virginia-based God’s Pit Crew is a non-profit, faith based crisis response organization of over 300 volunteers committed to meeting the needs of people across the United States and around the world in their time of need.

The tractor-trailer was fully loaded with 35,000 pounds of relief supplies being donated to Smoky Mountain Children’s Home, including bottled water, Gatorade, and other beverages along with canned goods and paper products such as toilet paper and paper towels—much needed items at the facility.

Dr. Walt Mauldin, executive director of SMCH, stated, “We were shocked to learn of the accident, but we were happy to learn that the driver was not injured. That was our biggest concern! We can replace the supplies and material things, but we can’t replace a life. As for the supplies, I have learned that God will always supply our needs.”

“The God’s Pit Crew truck and trailer is a total loss. The Load of Hope being delivered to the Children’s Home will be delayed, but the most important thing is that no one was harmed and our driver returned to his family safe and sound. We give God all of the praise!” the organization told supporters in a statement. “Please continue to pray for our organization as we begin working on replacing our tractor and trailer, which is so vital to our ministry, and for our faithful driver who is understandably shaken.”

The organization has been a regular contributor to Smoky Mountain Children’s Home. From making renovations on campus to furnishing needed supplies and food products, God’s Pit Crew has blessed Smoky Mountain Children’s Home numerous times.

“We’re not sure at this point when we will be able to get a load there, we hope within the next few weeks,” said God’s Pit Crew Director Randy Johnson.

If readers would like to help by donating supplies, they may drop items off at Smoky Mountain Children’s Home, 449 McCarn Circle in Sevierville. Needed items are as follows: non-perishable food items, bottled water, Gatorade and other beverages, toilet paper, paper towels, bath hand towels, bathroom rugs, zippered vinyl mattress covers (twin sizes), and twin size comforter sets. No contribution is too small or too large.

“The Sevier County Community has been extremely good to Smoky Mountain Children’s Home through the years and so have organizations like God’s Pit Crew,” said Dr. Coleman Peacock, director of communications for SMCH. “Working through them, God has always supplied our needs as we care for disenfranchised children and youth. I believe He will continue to do so.”

Accident photos courtesy of God’s Pit Crew