Fundraiser slated for nurse hurt in car crash

Dawn Fleming, News-Topic, Lenoir, N.C.
·2 min read

May 23—LENOIR — Small moments of opportunity to reach out and make a difference can have a mighty impact on someone's life.

This Friday (May 28) is an opportunity to help someone who had made a commitment to serve others by becoming a nurse.

At just 23 years old, Tatum Logan, was critically injured in a car crash when a car crossed the median on U.S. Highway 321 and slammed into her vehicle.

Logan graduated from the Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute's Practical Nurse program and was pinned as a nurse this past December. She is a graduate of Hibriten High School.

Exela Pharma Sciences will host a cookout fundraiser for Logan on Friday, May 28 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Michelle Building located at 1325 William White Place in Lenoir.

Sherry Hicks, owner of Paradise Subs & Deli, will be volunteering her culinary skills to prepare the picnic style plate which will feature a hamburger, or hotdog, chips, a drink, and a cookie. She will also be serving up her popular lemonade. Picnic plates sell for $7 each, but contributors may donate additional money. In addition, raffle tickets will be sold for $2 each, or five tickets for $3. Raffle prizes include a Solo camping stove, Yeti cooler, camping chairs, photo session, and more.

According to someone who knows her, the day of the crash (Saturday, May 7), Logan had willingly agreed to take on a nursing shift with Caldwell UNC. She was driving her Nissan Sentra southbound along Hickory Boulevard in front Lowe's Hardware, near the Hibriten Drive overpass, when a GMC Safari van driven by Calude Howard, Jr., 64, crossed the median and collided with her car. Howard succumbed to his injuries and Logan was taken to Carolinas Medical Center, where she is still in recovery.

In addition to a serious head trauma, she suffered multiple injuries to the right side of her body, including fractures to both femurs, a broken right knee, broken right ankle, and broken right arm.

According sources, Logan is not fully conscious yet, but she is breathing on her own. She has been moved from intensive care to the progressive unit and has started therapy and has a long recovery ahead of her.

The cause of the wreck is still being investigated, including possible medical conditions involving Howard.