By Hannah Curran, Editor
TRUSSVILLE — After a weekend accident at the Alabama International Dragway in Steele that severely injured a Trussville resident, Charles Snider is home and starting his recovery process.
Charles has always loved drag racing, whether that meant racing or being a spectator. Charles’ wife, Evelyn Snider, said he plans to be back in the driver’s seat after he recovers.
“His [racing] truck is currently in no working condition, but he eats, sleeps, and loves drag racing; that is his absolute passion, so he will be back,” Evelyn said. “When everything gets all healed, he’ll be back in the driver’s seat, but for now, he’s gonna be at home.”
Evelyn said the whole experience has been “overwhelming and humbling.”
On Saturday, April 30, Charles attended the racing event as a spectator to support some fellow racers.
“Someone needed some help underneath the vehicle, and he was helping them,” Evelyn said. “Then the car got knocked off the jack stands and landed on top of him and his friend.”
Chad McDonald, 41, of Talladega, was under the vehicle with Charles, and unfortunately, he lost his life when the car fell on top of them.
“He was just like my husband, just so giving and kind and willing to help anybody out,” Evelyn said. “They were just trying to help out.”
Charles said McDonald was the type of person who you could talk to for five minutes, and it was “like you knew him a lifetime.”
Evelyn said after the car fell, it continued to roll backward with them underneath, rolling her husband on the ground “like a rolling pin.”
“He managed to find an opportunity to push himself out from underneath the car,” Evelyn said. “I was actually at work, and he called me on the phone, but he couldn’t tell me anything past the fact that he was hurt. Then someone took the phone and told me what was going on.”
Charles sustained four back fractures to his spine, a collapsed lung, a broken sternum, a broken clavicle, and multiple broken and fractured ribs.
“He’s got several spots of like road rash and just areas that are minor, but really the major issues are the broken bones that he suffered,” Evelyn said.
Doctors initially told Charles he would be in the hospital for seven to ten days, but he was allowed to go home after three days.
“The past few days have felt like a year,” Evelyn said. “He’s really tired, he’s on some pretty serious pain meds because of his serious injuries, but he’s doing well. He’s, surprisingly, his normal self. He’s got his sense of humor, and he’s been cutting jokes with everybody. We’ve had a lot of visitors, and we’re very thankful for the people that have reached out and helped.”
Evelyn said several of her clients from work had donated money to help her husband, and they weren’t the only ones.
“We had a lot of people reaching out asking how they could help,” Evelyn said. “We kind of had a humbling moment where we realized we’re gonna need help.”
Charles has a long recovery road ahead of him. Evelyn said it could be a year because things start to get back to normal.
“They told us that it’s, it’s going to be six to 12 months just to kind of have things back to normal,” Evelyn said. “Even after that, he’s gonna need some continuing things just to make sure that everything is as it should be. He’s already got some appointments at the ortho and spine doctor, and there’s a lot of follow-up stuff.”
During this period he will be unable to work and will need at-home care and therapy.
The Sniders have started a GoFundMe account to help pay for Charles’ medical expenses. They have already raised $3,910 of the $5,000 goal.