Photo Joni B. Hannigan
Photos of the children who died in the accident in Lake Butler were kept private out of respect for the family.
HAWTHORNE (FBW)–Calling William Edwin “Ed” Scott, 70, one of the most loving and truthful men he ever met, Johnny Goodwin said the grieving grandfather was overwhelmed with pain and heartbreak on hearing seven of his grandchildren were taken from him as the result of a fiery accident involving a stopped school bus and a tractor-trailer rig Jan. 25.
“I’ve never ran into this much heartache like I have with this one,” Goodwin, bi-vocational pastor of the tiny Ochwilla Baptist Church in rural Hawthorne, told Florida Baptist Witness.
Recounting the last hours of Scott’s life, Goodwin said he was with the long-time member of the church and the chairman of the deacon board when Scott was told the children of each of his two daughters had been killed.
“I was with him when he said, ‘pastor, I’m hurting all over so bad and I don’t know if I’m going to make it,’” Goodwin recounted, also recalling Scott had undergone open heart surgery sometime in the past, as did Scott’s wife, Katie.
The family’s tragic situation began the afternoon of Jan. 25 when the three-vehicle accident occurred near Lake Butler in North Florida. Scott’s seven grandchildren were in a car which had stopped behind a school bus returning students home from three rural Union County schools. The car was rear-ended and sandwiched between the bus and a tractor-trailer on State Road 121, catching fire on impact.
Six of the children died in the blaze and one died after being pinned beneath the right front wheel of the truck, according to a report by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Nine children aboard the bus, their driver Lillie Perry, 46, and the truck driver, Alvin Wilkerson, 31, were injured in the accident.
Five of those who died were the children of Scott’s daughter, Barbara (Scott), and her husband, Terry Mann. One daughter, 15-year-old Cynthia Nicole “Nikki” Mann, was from Mann’s previous marriage and the others were her three adopted siblings, Elizabeth Mann, 15; Johnny Mann, 13; and Heaven Mann, 3. Also killed were 20-month-old Anthony Lamb, whose adoption was to have been finalized Jan. 26 according to some reports, and Terry and Barbara Mann’s nieces, half-sisters Ashley Keen, 13, and Miranda Finn, 8.
All three of the older siblings were members of Fellowship Baptist Church in Raiford and the two youngest occupied the nursery whenever the church doors were open. The teen’s cousins, Ashley and Miranda, had just moved to Lake Butler, but had visited at Fellowship Baptist previously and were planning on attending with their cousins later in the day. They had also visited previously at Ochwilla Baptist in Hawthorne and were members of Eden Baptist Church in Hawthorne.
Pastor Goodwin remembered Scott as a person everyone could count on. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he retired from the Alachua County Road Department after about 35 years.
“He loved every one and tried to help every one he could. It would really get to him when somebody got hurt or needed help or had problems in their own family,” Goodwin said. “He was always there.”
Goodwin said the tradition of taking care of people through foster parenting and adoption was one which began with Scott and his wife after they blended several adopted children with their own “blood” children to eventually have five children.
“They come from a long line of adoption and fostering and adoption within the Scott family,” Goodwin said. “It’s a close-knit family on all sides.”
As a pastor, Goodwin said he has often been at the receiving end of that same kind of support and care. “As his pastor, he was there 100 percent for me,” Goodwin said. “He was one of the finer men that I’ve ever met. What he tells you is the truth and what he tells you he will do.”
Scott, a native of Caryville, is survived by his wife, Katie Scott of Hawthorne. Other survivors include his daughters Amanda Lee Scott of Hawthorne and Barbara Jean Mann of Lake Butler; sons Richard Allen Clark, William Edwin Scott Jr. and Eric Jerome Scott, all of Hawthorne; brothers Neal Scott, T.D. Scott, Julian Scott and Bruce Scott, all of Starke; a sister, Edwina Willis of Orlando; 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
The following services are planned:
• A visitation for Cynthia Nicole “Nikki” Mann, 15, Elizabeth Mann, 15; Johnny Mann, 13; and Heaven Mann, 3 was at Union County High School in Lake Butler Jan. 29. The funeral was at First Christian Church of Lake Butler on Monday, Jan. 30. Nicole is also survived by her mother, Cynthia Elaine Rainwater of Knoxville, Tenn., and numerous other family members.
• Viewing for William Edwin “Ed” Scott was Jan. 30, at William-Thomas Funeral Homes in Hawthorne. Graveside services were Jan. 31 at Ochwilla Baptist Church cemetery in Hawthorne.
• Visitation for Ashley Keen, 13, and Miranda Finn, 8 was Jan. 31 at William-Thomas Funeral Homes in Hawthorne. Miranda Finn is survived by David Finn of Orlando and Amanda Scott, who also is the mother of Ashley Keen. Graveside services were Feb. 1 at Ochwilla Baptist Church cemetery in Hawthorne.
• A memorial service for 20-month-old Anthony Lamb is Feb. 2 at 11 a.m. at Archer Funeral Home in Lake Butler. Survivors also include a father, Thomas Lamb of Carter County, Tenn.; and a mother, Terisa Lamb of Daytona Beach.
Several funds have been established for the families of the crash victims.
• Community State Bank in Lake Butler has established the Mann-Scott Family Fund for the seven children who died. Donations can be sent to the bank in care of the Mann Family Memorial Fund, 300 W. Main St., Lake Butler, FL 32054 or call (800) 238-8681.
• Additional funds have been set up at Community State Bank for the families of two of the children who were injured in the accident as well as the driver of the school bus that was involved. They are the Murphy Family Fund, the Elixon Family Fund and the Lillie Mae Perry/Godbolt fund respectively.
• Donations can be mailed to Community State Bank, P.O. Box 158, Lake Butler, FL 32504. Specify on the check the name of the fund for which it is intended. For more information, call (386) 496-3333.
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