FORREST CITY, Ark. — There was an outpouring of support Saturday for a Forrest City youngster severely injured in an accident on Interstate 40.
Four people were in the vehicle when it crashed and landed upside down in a ditch back on July 26. A 5-year old was the most severely injured.
Saturday afternoon the St. Francis County Sheriff’s Office presented a check to Jayce Collums in the amount of $3,200.
Jayce suffered a spinal cord injury and has been confined to a wheelchair.
The money, which will help Jayce and his family with medical expenses, was collected through a number of fundraising events conducted by sheriff’s deputies.
Jayce, his mother Kristian and grandparents Sherry and Glenn Shepherd were all suspended upside down by their seat belts and are thankful to be alive.
Glenn Shepherd was driving and told WREG the SUV was filling with water, and a number of people stopped to help them get out.
“We flipped end over end, and we would up in a ditch,” he said. “And we were able to get out only through the good graces of the good Lord.”
Also Saturday, 112 balloons were released, representing the number of days since the accident.
Little Jayce also got to meet members of the helicopter crew that transported him to the hospital.
