Carver baseball will finish season to honor coach

Carver principal Christopher Lindsey and assistant baseball coaches met with players on Tuesday to discuss the immediate future of the baseball team in light of the death of head coach David Pollard, who was killed in a three-vehicle wreck near Buena Vista Road on Monday.

The decision was left up to the players, who elected to finish out the rest of their regular season, which includes two games against Shaw, Pollard’s alma mater.

“They want to try and rise up and take those two games for him,” assistant coach Andy Hicks said.

The Tigers will return to practice on Wednesday, play Thursday’s game at 4:30 p.m. at Shaw as scheduled, and then host Shaw on Friday. Hicks said Friday’s game is tentatively scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

The team plans to hold a vigil for Pollard after the game and encouraged members of the Carver and Columbus community to come out and show support for the team.

“We’re planning on the biggest attendance ever at a Carver game on Friday,” Hicks said.

Hicks said he and other coaches met with players on Monday and again on Tuesday to discuss what had happened. Several players joined coaches in the dugout after the news had spread.

“All they wanted to do was sit,” Hicks said. “We went out there and sat in the dugout. They’re sad. They’re teenage boys, and they like to hold things in, but there have been tears shed. I’ve talked to some of those guys one-on-one. They say they’re OK, but I guess they want to have that tough facade.”

Coaches tried to stress Pollard’s message of discipline and growing as an individual to their players.

“We tried to portray that when we talked to them,” he said. “Don’t forget about the lessons he shared about life.”

According to Hicks, the school sent out an email to faculty and parents on Monday and Tuesday to notify them of what had happened and to let them know that grief counselors would be available to both students and faculty. Muscogee County superintendent David Lewis also met with the baseball team on Tuesday.

“We’ve put in place everything possible to help out the students and teachers,” Hicks said.

Pollard was married with one daughter.

As of now, a date and time for a funeral service has not been set.

Also, Carver’s game against LaGrange that was originally scheduled for Monday has not yet received a makeup date.

Witness: Stop light violation led to wreck

A witness said it was a stop light violation that led to the fatal three-vehicle wreck near Buena Vista Road that killed Pollard, according to a Columbus Police report. 

Police Sgt. Fred Carnes confirmed Tuesday morning that authorities are still searching for the unidentified driver who committed the violation in a stolen Audi before fleeing the scene on foot and heading south on Andrews Road. Last seen wearing dark clothes, the wounded suspect was described as a black male in his early 20s who appears to be approximately 6-foot-1 and weighing 145 pounds.

Officials responded to the scene around 12:53 p.m. Monday and spoke with the unharmed driver and a witness upon arrival. 

A preliminary investigation indicated that the driver of the stolen vehicle was headed westbound on Buena Vista Road in the center lane, approaching its intersection with Morris Road. Pollard, who was traveling in a 2005 Chevrolet Impala, was headed southbound on Morris Road in the left turning lane, approaching its intersection with Buena Vista Road. 

A witness said the driver of the silver Audi failed to stop at the red light as Pollard was traveling through the intersection. The stolen vehicle’s front bumper struck the left side of the Chevy Impala, causing it to strike the front fender of the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 stopped in the eastbound lane of Buena Vista Road at the traffic light. 

Pollard, 36, died of blunt-force trauma at 1:52 p.m., chief deputy coroner Freeman Worley said. The cause of death will be confirmed after an autopsy.

David Mitchell: 706-571-8571, @leprepsports

Sarah Robinson: 706-571-8622, @sarahR_92

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Carver baseball will finish season to honor coach ."