PORTIA WILLIAMS

PDT Staff Writer

A benefit will be held for Brian Howard and his family Sunday, Sept. 30 at 172 B Park St. in Wheelersburg. Activities will begin at 10:30 a.m. with music from Whitey’s Music Barn set to start at 1 p.m.

According to the Portsmouth Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, at approximately 10:20 p.m., Aug. 6, 2012, a driver of a vehicle was headed northbound on Ohio 104. The vehicle attempted to pass a semi-tractor trailer rig and struck a southbound struck the vehicle driven by Brian Howard of West Portsmouth.

Howard, of West Portsmouth, and his children were headed home after visiting the Scioto County Fair.

It was a day that Sheree Howard, the wife of Brian Howard, said that she will never forget. Howard said she received a call on her cellular phone that her husband and three of their children had been involved in an accident.

Sheree was advised that she needed to get to the scene immediately.

“Initially, quite naturally I panicked,” Howard said.

Remarkably, there were no fatalities as a result of the accident, but Brian Howard and his two daughters Jillian Cunningham, age 15, and Emily Howard, age 11, and his son Tyler Howard, age 15, were all injured.

Jillian Cunningham and Emily Howard were transported to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. Tyler Howard was discharged by SOMC. Brian Howard had to transported to a hospital in Huntington, W.Va.

Workers at Whitey’s Music Hall in Wheelersburg decided to come together to host a benefit to raise money for the Howard family.

Prior to the accident, Brian Howard had been the drummer, but now due to his injuries has yet to be able to perform on the drums.

The benefit will be held this Sunday at Whitey’s Music Hall, located at 172 B Park Stree in Wheelersburg.

Jim Caldwell, one of the event coordinators, said that a host of activities have been planned for the Howard family benefit.

“We are going to play music and just have a good time. Brian has not been able to work because of the head-on collision that he was involved in, so we wanted to raise money to help out the Howard family out with all of their expenses,” Caldwell said.

“To raise money we will have a Chinese Auction, square dancing, country music, hot dogs, and a lot of food for people to purchase. We want to do what we can to raise money for Brian and his family,” Caldwell said.

All proceeds collected from the benefit will go directly to the Howard family to help to pay the medical expenses accrued from the accident.

According to Sheree Howard, her husband is slowly progressing from the accident, but still has a long way to go and is in physical therapy.

“My husband worked as a contractor before the accident. Now, he can barely getting around,” Howard said.

Howard said that her two daughters, Jillian and Emily, still have nightmares about the accident and also are still going through physical therapy.

Sheree Howard said that it has been their faith, family and friends that has sustained her family through this very difficult time in their lives.

Anyone that would like to donate items for the Chinese Auction for this benefit may contact Mary at 740-357-3471, Tami at 740-978-7351, Jim at 740-574-5950, or Doug or Donna at 740-259-3029.

Portia Williams may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 234 or portiawilliams@heartlandpublications.com