Coffee Co. family mourns loss of Army veteran; ESCC athlete rehabilitates after crash
ENTERPRISE, Ala. (WDHN) — A Coffee County community is rallying around a Wiregrass athlete, and another family prepares to bury their loved one after a deadly March crash.
The crash occurred on March 27, 2025, and involved Enterprise State baseball star, Gaines Harrell, and distinguished Army veteran, Rey Maldonado.
'I had just gotten home, and our coaches texted us that Gaines had been in a bad wreck,' ESCC teammate of Gaines Harrell, Hunter Williams said. 'I was very shocked and very worried.
Officials say a vehicle driven by Maldonado crossed the lines and hit the truck of Harrell.
Maldonado died at the scene.
'He will be greatly missed because he had a wonderful personality,' Enterprise Senior Center Coordinator, Angela Lane said. 'He was a good person who didn't mind helping.'
Lane met Maldonado and his wife when they joined the Enterprise Senior Center five years ago.
Lane says they dedicated time to going to events, helping others, and making sure everybody at the center felt included.
'He spoke English and Spanish,' Lane said. 'Him being here to bridge the gap between Spanish and English was a great thing because we want everybody to feel all-included.'
Harrell was critically injured in the crash and was transported to a Florida hospital. Doctors say Harrell suffered two broken femurs, two shattered ankles, and a broken knee.
After undergoing extensive surgeries last week, he had to be put in a medically induced coma.
He came out of the coma last weekend.
'Sunday morning, he sent us a Snapchat of him lying in the bed,' Williams said. 'He's doing better.'
Now, Gaines is receiving physical therapy at Encompass Health in Dothan, where they are working on his core and upper body. This is so that Gaines can transfer from a bed to a chair or vehicle because he will not be able to put weight on his legs for about three months.
Harrell, for the Weevils, was the second-best batter on the team and was coming off a spectacular performance before the crash happened. He notched five hits and an RBI in a doubleheader against Coastal Alabama, which earned him an ACCC Player of the Week honor.
Now he is on the long road to recovery, but he will have a community behind him on that journey.
'It's really awesome to see a community come together and really support,' Classmate of Gaines, Shelby Dewberry said.
Community members have set up a GoFundMe, scheduled a fried shrimp fundraiser, and sold almost 600 bracelets to help Gaines.
People still have until Sunday to purchase a bracelet, and the shrimp fundraiser will be held on April 19 at 11:00 a.m.
'It's green and has Gaines' jersey number, and then it also has a bible verse that was in his caption,' Dewberry said. 'So we put that on there.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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