LINCOLN COUNTY, Tenn. (WHNT) — Lincoln County community members grieve and mourn the loss of 22-month-old Sawyer and his father, Lane Smith, after a deadly Mother’s Day crash on Interstate 75 in Chattanooga.
Sawyer’s former day care, Little Blessings Childcare, dedicated a garden in his honor. The day care held a ceremony Sunday afternoon, and there was not a single dry eye.
“Buddy, we miss you so much, and we’re going to keep your memory alive,” Tammy Carpenter, the owner of Little Blessings Childcare, said. “As long as we’re here, you’ll be here too.”
Little Blessings dedicated its flower bed beneath its sign to Sawyer, placing his favorite things among the plants: farm animals.
“God spoke to me one night, ’cause I had come up with different ideas, but it was like ‘do something with the flower bed and put a cow in it’,” Carpenter said. “Because if you knew Sawyer, you knew he loved the cows.”
Family and friends filled the surrounding areas of the flower bed with hand-painted rocks, all representing something special from their relationship with Sawyer. People also wore shirts that displayed one of Sawyer’s last art projects on the front, his hand prints colored like the Earth, that read ‘I can change the world with my own two hands.’
“He did this little art project maybe the week before he was in the accident,” Carpenter said. “He can change the world with both of his hands, and I think he is changing it.”
The community has wrapped its arms around Bayleigh, Sawyer’s mom, and her daughter, Brynlee, who both survived the crash. People told News 19 this level of support is nothing new.
“Lincoln County, any time a tragedy like this happens, we’re known for getting together, rallying together, and helping whoever out,” Jamie Rowe, an employee at Little Blessings Childcare, said.
Bayleigh is currently in a neck brace as she recovers from her injuries. She said that she appreciates the community’s support.
Bayleigh told News 19 that her daughter, Brynlee, is still in the hospital after having to undergo several skin graft surgeries due to severe burns from the crash. She said Brynlee should be getting discharged in a few weeks.
The Bank of Lincoln County has a donation fund for the Smith family and is accepting donations at any of its three locations. A check can be mailed to P.O. Box 778, Fayetteville, Tennessee 37334 for those outside the area. Representatives said to make the check out to the Bank of Lincoln County and put the Smith family on the memo line.
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