Hope Mills Team Wrestles With Heavy Heart Over Fallen Teammate

Before Tuesday's practice, coach Darrin Halford gave his team the bad news. One of their own is in the hospital fighting for his life.

Eight-year-old Timmy McCall suffered massive injuries when he accidentally drove his Go Kart underneath a dump truck Sunday afternoon.

"He has two broken jawbones and a fracture above his lip," said Dawn Mourneault, a family friend. "He has 14 staples in his head. He has a bad scar on the right side of his face, which included severe nerve damage to that side of his face."

McCall's teammates wrestled with heavy hearts on Tuesday. Tifton Halford was having a tough time coping.

"Me and Timmy are pretty close because most of the time, I wrestle with him," Halford said. "Most of the people I see, I see Timmy's face on all of them."

Club members dedicated Tuesday's practice to Timmy, hoping he gets better.

"It's something that you never think would happen," said Corey Hayden, a family friend. "He's the type that you never think anything bad would happen to. He's not the mean type, and he'll always do stuff for you."

Friends say the injuries are so severe that the two-time state champion may never wrestle again.

"It's a joy to have someone like that. That you can work with and see so much promise and hope," said Darrin Halford, McCall's coach. "When something like this happens, it just tears everyone up."

Timmy's mother is a single parent, and she will have to take most of the next two months of off work.

If anyone would like to help out with Timmy's medical bills, they can go to any First Union bank and donate to the Python Wrestling Club fund.