FEBRUARY 11, 2015
PEMISCOT COUNTY, MO (KFVS):
One person was killed and nine others were injured in a
crash that involved a church van in Pemiscot County, Missouri on Wednesday
evening.
The crash happened on Route U at Route H, 5 miles west of
Caruthersville around 7 p.m.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 32-year-old
David W. Pennington of St. Louis was trying to pass an SUV driven by
24-year-old Franklin Casteel of Cooter, Missouri.
Pennington hit the SUV and then hit the church van head on,
according to the MSHP.
Pennington was seriously injured and was flown to Regional
Medical Center in Memphis, Tennessee.
According to the medical center, Pennington was in surgery
on Thursday and is still recovering.
Casteel was moderately injured and taken to Memorial
Hospital in Hayti.
Sgt. Clark Parrott with the MSHP said the church van caught
on fire.
The driver of the van, 43-year-old Bobby L. Coleman, of
Caruthersville, Mo., was taken to Pemiscot Memorial Hospital where he was
pronounced dead around 7:30 p.m.
According to the MSHP crash report, seven people riding in
the van were injured, included a 5-year-old girl, five teenagers and one adult.
Their injuries ranged from moderate to serious on Wednesday night.
As of Thursday, the second adult, 34-year-old Pamela Ings
was released from the hospital.
One of the teen's condition has been upgraded from serious
to satisfactory on Thursday.
Some in the van were flown to Memphis hospitals and some
were taken to Pemiscot Memorial in Hayti.
The van was from the Kinfolk Ridge Baptist Church in
Caruthersville and, according to the MSHP, was on its way to a banquet.
Several helicopters had to land in a field near the crash to
take the injured away from the scene.
Troopers, along with members of the major crash
investigation team, are still working to find a cause.
Coleman's funeral and visitation set
Visitation for Coleman is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday
at First Baptist Church in Caruthersville, Mo.
Coleman was an 18-year veteran. A full firefighter's funeral
will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the church.
Family and friends remember Coleman
For family and fellow firefighters to say Bobby Coleman was
loved is an understatement.
A fellow firefighter at the Arteriole Fire Department said
Coleman worked there for at least 20 years. He was a longtime church member and
was driving kids to and from the event.
A firefighter, a friend and a wonderful father. Coleman was
the kind of person everyone on the fire department considered family.
In fact, it was Coleman's brother who was one of the first
responders; a fellow firefighter who arrived on scene on Wednesday night.
The entire department said they are devastated by the news.
A man, they call, one of the most dependable on the team is gone. He would have
been working on Thursday, in fact, sleeping at the station with uniform at his
feet, ready to go.
Chief Charlie Jones said he doesn't have words to describe
how much he meant to the community.
"He was a very good, Christian person; and he would do
anything for you," Caruthersville Fire Chief Charlie Jones said. "He
was the type that loved the fire department. He loved his church, he loved his
people and he loved his family. And he had an outpouring of love for everybody
he saw."
Coleman's cousin, Assistant Police Chief Jerry Hudgens, said
they grew up like brothers. He also served alongside him at the fire
department. He said everyone in the community loved in the same way.
Hudgens said their last day together was earlier in the
week, one he's more than thankful for.
Now, he wants Coleman's legacy to live on, to reach out to
anyone in need. He said he knows Bobby is smiling down from heaven knowing the
children in the van are ok.
Schools, community pull together for those injured and
for Coleman's family
Three teenagers injured in the crash attended the R-3 School
District and the Delta C-7 School District. The driver who was killed, Bobby
Coleman, has two kids that attend Caruthersville High School.
In addition to that, two kids on the bus are students at the
middle school.
Caruthersville Superintendent J.J. Bullington said those
students were brought to an area hospital for their injuries and are expected
to be ok.
Because of the impact of the situation, counselors are on
hand at both the high school and middle school.
Bullington believes the people there will help support the
families that have been impacted.
"Our community has always been a close-knit community,
and when there is a need or a tragedy, the community is always unbelievably
generous and comes together and helps the families in need," Bullington
said.
A fund has been set up for the Coleman family at Bank Star
in Caruthersville.
Bullington also talked about Coleman.
"You will never hear anything said about him that is
not just the epitome of a Christian man, and he does a lot," Bullington
said. "The whole idea that he was picking up children to take them to
church for a Valentine's event just speaks volumes of the kind of person that
he is."
The family is asking for donations to go to the church
Coleman was a youth pastor at, Kinfolk Ridge Baptist Church in Caruthersville.
