Neighbors rally around man after he was hit by truck in Pineville

PINEVILLE, N.C. — Not many neighbors in Pineville have spoken with Doug Allen, but many can say they’ve had a positive interaction with the man who never leaves home without his American flag.

“Never had a conversation. I just wave, and you know, I just smile,” said Marlow Metcalf, a volunteer board member with Pineville Neighbors Place. “He makes me smile just knowing he’s out and about living his life here in Pineville.”

Neighbors like Metcalf became worried when they saw his electric wheelchair overturned last Wednesday.

Pineville police say Allen was riding his wheelchair on the sidewalk along Carolina Place Parkway, and when he crossed the parking lot, he was struck by a truck at the shopping center exit.

“My gut kind of dropped because I was, you knew immediately it was Dough’s chair by the flag, right?” said Metcalf.

Allen is in the ICU with a broken neck, back and pelvis.

His daughter told Channel 9 it’s just one of many obstacles he’s faced in his life. He lost both legs, and endured 47 surgeries after a motorcycle crash years ago.

“The recovery is going to be very long, and it’s going to be very hard, and it’s going to be very painful,” Metcalf said.

That’s why she created a GoFundMe to help Allen’s family with medical expenses. She hopes it will ease their financial and emotional stress.

“I think when something happens with somebody in this community, it’s our job to step up and help one another,” she said.

Just after we met Metcalf, she went to the post office to open a P.O. Box. She hopes letters from community members will keep Allen’s spirits high. If you would like to send cards or messages to support him, you can send them to:

DOUG ALLEN

9835 PINEVILLE-MATTHEWS ROAD

PO BOX 941

PINEVILLE, NC 28134