Verbena business selling shirts in honor of helicopter victims
Published 3:01 pm Thursday, March 31, 2016
A Verbena business is working to raise money for the families of those who died in a helicopter crash in Coffee County on March 26.
“We are just trying to help out in whatever way we can,” Big Daddy D’s Tees owner Derek Ellis said.
Flight medic Jason Snipes, 34, of Verbena, died alongside pilot Chad Hammond, flight nurse Stacey Cernadas and patient Zach Strickland when the Haynes Life Flight helicopter they were in crashed.
The group was transporting Strickland, who had been injured in a motor vehicle accident, to a Montgomery Hospital.
Ellis said 75 percent of the proceeds will go directly to the family members of the individuals who died in the crash.
“Jason was a member of the local Verbena Fire Department, and a lot of people knew him in Chilton County,” Ellis said. “This is a difficult time for a lot of people, and we wanted to reach out and help those who have been affected by this tragedy.”
The T-shirts are $18 for adult sizes Small-3X. Shirts are available in black and charcoal, and youth sizes are available in XS-XL.
The design on the shirt has the name of each individual killed in the crash as well as the date and a set of wings with a logo of Haynes Life Flight in the center of the design.
Ellis said shipping is available for those who may live out of state and would like to purchase a shirt.
The shipping is $3.50 for one shirt and $1.50 for each additional shirt sold.
“Right now, we are just trying to get the word out,” Ellis said. “We are running a pre-order of shirts from now until April 8. Those shirts will be ready to pick up by April 13 and we will run another order for two weeks after that.”
For more information about the shirts, call Big Daddy D’s Tees at (205) 294-2915 or visit www.bigdaddydstees.com or email Lauren@bigdaddystees.org.
Those ordering online are asked to include what size and color of shirt when filling out the order.
The store is located at 3985 U.S. Highway 31 in Verbena.